Teenager Out to Celebrate Birthday Party Raped in Coimbatore; 4 Arrested, Main Accused Absconding

Coimbatore: A 17-year-old girl out with a male friend in a park to celebrate a birthday party was allegedly raped by six men, four of whom have been arrested, police said on Saturday. The incident took place on November 26 in Seeranayakan village of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu.

While four of the accused have been arrested, the others, including the gang leader, are still on the run. A search is on for other two men, including the gang leader, police said, adding that special teams have been formed to nab them.

The accused were booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and Sections 354 (assault on woman to outrage her modesty) and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), they added.

However, the police said that the preliminary investigation has not confirmed gang-rape.

The arrested were produced before a Mahila Court, which remanded them to custody. They have been lodged at the central jail here.

The 11th standard student, who had gone to the park, was returning home with her friend at around 9 pm when the gang of six accosted them. The accused allegedly assaulted the male friend, then dragged the teenager to a secluded place and asked her to strip. When she refused, two of them allegedly took turns to rape her.

The other four recorded the entire incident, police said.

The girl narrated the incident to her mother the next day following which a complaint was lodged at RS Puram police station.

The incident comes on the heels of the gang-rape and murder of a 25-year-old veterinary doctor in Telangana. The four accused arrested of raping her were on Saturday sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

The incident has led to outrage, with several protests being held in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. The protesters, who surrounded the Shamshabad police station, have demanded death penalty for the accused who killed the veterinarian.