Puducherry: Two held for sexual abuse, murder of nine-year-old girl

The body of the girl was found in a decomposed state in a drain on March 5 with her hands and legs tied up

Two men were arrested for allegedly kidnapping, sexually abusing and murdering a nine-year-old girl in Puducherry, police said on Thursday.

Two men were arrested for alleged sexual abuse, kidnap and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Puducherry. (Representational Image)

According to an officer aware of the matter, the body of the girl, identified as a class 5 student, was found in a decomposed state in a drain on March 5 with her hands and legs tied up. A missing complaint was filed by her parents on March 2, an officer said.

Puducherry home minister A Namassivayam on Wednesday announced that a special team of police formed to investigate the case has arrested two people, identified as Karunas (19) and Vivekanandan (56) under the charges of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and SC/ST prevention of atrocities act.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed on Wednesday, began enquiries on Thursdaycasting a wider net to identify more possible suspects. Five suspects are being questioned under police custody. “The government will bring all the accused to book and ensure maximum punishment,” Namassivayam had said on Wednesday. Puducherry director general of police (DGP) B Srinivas said that further details would be released by the SIT soon. Lieutenant governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan met the child’s family and later held an “emergency meeting” with police officers at the Raj Nivas on the matter on Thursday. “...Instructed officials to expedite the inquiry,” she said in a post on X.

“It’s a complex and sensitive issue and we are collecting credible evidence from the locality,” a senior police officer said, not wishing to be named. Families have been protesting across Puducherry blocking roads and demanding swift action from the police.

The All India NR Congress-led NDA chief minister N Rangasamy announced a solatium of ₹20 lakh to the family of the child. The opposition Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have announced a protest on Friday against the crime which they allege happened because the accused were under the influence of alcohol. The AIADMK too has called for a bandh on Friday.

A post-mortem report from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) is awaited. The victim child was cremated on Thursday following the post-mortem.