Chennai rape: 66-year-old lift operator was the first to allegedly rape 11-year-old girl

The 11-year-old girl, who has a hearing disability, was allegedly sexually assaulted inside a largely unoccupied apartment block in Chennai.

Horrific details are emerging in the case of the alleged rape of an 11-year-old girl by 17 people over several months in Chennai.

17 people accused in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 11-year-old girl are produced at Madras High Court, in Chennai. (PTI Photo)

The girl, who has a hearing disability, was allegedly sexually assaulted inside a largely unoccupied apartment block in Chennai, police said.

Among those arrested were the 300-flat building’s security guards, plumber, electrician and lift operator, the police said.

Police said the girl was first sexually assaulted by a 66-year-old lift operator after she returned from school and was cycling around the complex and later several others joined in the assault. He allegedly invited other men who filmed each other raping the child.

The officer said the victim identified all the accused. At least four of them have confessed to the assault and two others said they had molested the girl, the official added.

The girl’s parents lodged a complaint on Monday with the All Women Police Station in Vepery after which police swung into action. Based on the complaint, police first arrested a lift man and picked up two of his accomplices on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday.

The girl has been referred to a government hospital for medical examination and the reports will soon be filed in the court, the official said.

According to police, the victim is a second daughter of a north Indian family settled in Chennai. The girl’s father in his complaint said that his daughter was suffering from periodic stomach aches and enquiries by her mother revealed that the child was sexually abused by a group of men from January 15 to July 5, the complaint said adding that the gang threatened the victim with dire consequences.