3 school students repeatedly raped by 4 minors in Tamil Nadu | Coimbatore News

COIMBATORE: Two schoolgirls and a schoolboy aged between 10 and 12 years were raped repeatedly by four minor boys and an 18-year-old youth near Pollachi in Coimbatore district over the past few months.
Four of the culprits were arrested on Friday after a phone call to the child helpline alerted the authorities. One of the minors is absconding and police are looking for him.
Police sources said the four minors, who were school dropouts, and the 18-year-old, first befriended the children and took them to an isolated place near their village and raped them. They blackmailed the children, who were from poor families, with videos of the rape and beat them up if they refused to do their bidding.
The parents of the three children learned about the rape on Friday morning after the boy told a relative about it. However, the parents were not willing to file a police complaint.
Some villagers contacted Child Line (1098) and reported the crime. Based on the Child Line coordinator’s complaint, the Pollachi all women police registered a case against the four minor boys and a youth under various sections of the Pocso Act.
Three minor boys and the youth were arrested by the police on Friday evening. The youth was remanded in judicial custody and sent to Coimbatore central prison. The three minor boys were lodged at the observation home for juveniles in Coimbatore city.
The incident has shocked the local community, raising concerns about the safety of children in the area. The govt has been urged to take immediate action to ensure the protection of children and to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. Community leaders and activists are calling for increased awareness and education on child safety and the importance of reporting such crimes.
The case has also highlighted the need for better support systems for victims and their families. Authorities are being urged to provide counselling and assistance to help the children and their families cope with the trauma. The govt is being called upon to strengthen laws and enforcement to deter such heinous crimes and to ensure swift justice for the victims.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)