18 men held for sexually assaulting Chennai girl

Police have held 18 men for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl for over seven months in Chennai, news agency ANI reported on Tuesday. Those arrested include security men, lift operator and plumbers. Atleast 22 men were involved in the horrifying crime which took place in the heart of the Chennai city.

Police are searching for others involved in the crime.

Since most of the flats in the apartment campus were lying vacant, there came no hindrance in the way of the accused in executing the henious crime.

The victim is a class VII student. Police said that the matter opened up when the girl narrated her ordeal to her elder sister who informed their parents.

According to Times Of India, the girl has hearing disorder. Her perpetrators used to sedate her by giving her injections before sexually assaulting him. They also used to blackmail her since they had filmed the sexual act. This forced the girl to stay quiet.

An investigating officer told TOI that the perpetrators used to lace soft drinks with drug to sedate the girl. They also made her sniff a powder to sedate her before raping her.

The mother of the victim registered a complaint with the police on Monday alleging that her daughter was sexually assaulted by the men at various places inside their apartment campus.

The girl was first raped by one Ravi Kumar, 66, an elevator operator. Later his accomplices joined him in sexually assaulting the child, a police officer said. He said that Ravi would take away the child as soon as used to alight from her school van and take her to apartment basement and at other lonely places on the apartment campus to execute the crime.

The police who are investigating the matter has charged the accused under POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. Further investigations are underway.

By EP Web Desk