Chennai Journalist Arrested For Sexually Assaulting A 13-Year-Old Girl: Report

A 39-year-old journalist, Vinoba G, has been arrested by an all-women police station team in Chennai for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl. The television reporter has been arrested in connection with the case in which a 13-year-old girl was reportedly pushed into prostitution by her relative and was assaulted multiple times. Till now, the police team has arrested 16 people in the case. The list of arrested accused includes the girl's six relatives, a police inspector, a BJP functionary, a few brokers as well as men who raped her over two months.

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According to the police, "Vinoba lent money for interest to the main accused Madhan and his sister Sandhya and is very close to them. It is through that link that he sexually assaulted the 13-year-old girl three times in two months, including inside the office of the BJP functionary.” The officer further added “Whenever Vinoba visited Madhan, he preyed on the girl. The victim remembered him very well.” reported The New Indian Express.

Reportedly, the survivor’s mother sent her to her niece’s house for a few days. She was allegedly first raped by her niece’s first husband Madhan who then pushed her into prostitution. The six relatives of the survivor allegedly colluded with various brokers and sent the girl to them at a weekly package of 1.5 lakhs. They also invited regular customers to sexually assault the teenage girl.

The crime was exposed when the survivor’s mother approached the police as the accused wasn’t letting her meet her daughter. However, when the girl finally met her mother she confided in her and narrated the ordeal following which her mother filed a complaint. After investigation, the police arrested Madhan Kumar, Sandhya, Sharime, Banu, Selvi, Maheshwari, Vijaya, Karthik, and Vanitha among others. During the probe, Sandhya allegedly told the police that the girl was sent to one of their clients Rajendran, where inspector Pugalendhi had also sexually assaulted her, in exchange for not reporting the crime, reported The News Minute.

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The police expected to make more arrests in connection to the case. A special team has been formulated to probe further. The police also arrested Rajendran and remanded all three Vinoba, Rajendran, and Pugalendhi under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The other accused who were arrested were remanded to judicial custody for working as agents and for letting the crime happen.

Image Credit: Military.com

Arunima Sharma is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.