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Hans India
01-06-2025
- Hans India
SC discharges hostel in-charge of abetting student's suicide
The Supreme Court has discharged a Tamil Nadu school hostel in-charge, who was accused of abetting a student's suicide. A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra was dealing with an appeal challenging a decision of the Madras High Court, which had rejected the prayer to discharge the appellant for the offence of abetment to suicide under the Indian Penal Code's Section 306. The appellant's counsel contended before the apex court that the appellant had scolded the deceased, due to which the latter had locked himself in a room and hanged himself with a nylon rope. It was argued that the response of the appellant, being the correspondent and in charge of running a school and hostel, was justified, and it was just a chiding as a guardian to ensure that the deceased did not repeat the offence, and there was peace and tranquillity in the hostel. It was further submitted that there was nothing personal between the appellant and the deceased, and such reprimanding was meted out to the deceased only on a complaint by another student. The appellant was accused in an FIR registered by the state police CB-CID for the offences punishable under Sections 306 IPC (abetment to suicide) and 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, charges were framed against him under Section 306. Before the apex court, the counsel representing the Tamil Nadu government "fairly" stated that there did not appear to be any valid ground for charging the appellant for abetment to suicide. In its order, the Supreme Court noted that despite valid service of notice, the complainant, the father of the deceased student, did not appear in the proceedings before the top court. "Having considered the matter in its entirety, we find it a fit case for interference. As has rightly been submitted by learned senior counsel for the appellant, no normal person could have imagined that a scolding, that too based on a complaint by a student, would result in such tragedy due to the student so scolded taking his own life," it said. The apex court added that such scolding was the least a correspondent was required to do, to ensure that the complaint made against the deceased by another student was taken note of and remedial measures effected. After considering the factual position, the top court, in its considered opinion, found that no mens rea can be attributed to the appellant with regard to the abetment of suicide committed by the deceased. Allowing the appeal, it directed that "the order framing charge against the appellant under Section 306 of the IPC in connection with FIR No.01/2024 registered by CBCID stands set aside. The appellant stands discharged in the said case".
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Time of India
Girl found dead near rly tracks, kin move HC for CB-CID probe
Chennai: The parents of a 14-year-old girl from a Cuddalore village, who was found dead near the railway tracks at Velankanni in Nagapattinam district on April 29, have sought Madras high court intervention for a CB-CID probe into the matter. In their petition, the agricultural labourers alleged negligence and a possible cover-up, saying police buried the body without proper identification and dismissed their pleas for an investigation. They said the girl eloped with her boyfriend Dinesh on April 21 after telling them she was visiting the Velankanni temple. On April 29, she called her father from an unknown number, saying Dinesh had fallen unconscious after drinking and that she needed money to return home. Her mother agreed to send funds online, but the girl abruptly disconnected the call. Subsequent calls to the number were answered by an unidentified man who refused to cooperate, citing pending police cases against him. When Dinesh contacted them asking about the girl's whereabouts, suspicion grew. The parents lodged a missing complaint at Vadalur police station on May 1 but were told to approach the Velankanni police who sent them back to Vadalur. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nueva oportunidad en Miami para inversionistas con $300,000 dólares Financiación Empresarial Más información Undo On May 8, during another visit to Velankanni police station, they saw their daughter's photograph on a notice board, but police insisted it was that of a 35-year-old Muslim woman who died by suicide on April 29. Inquiries at Nagapattinam railway police station showed the body was buried as "unidentified" after minimal investigation. Authorities said they had published a small newspaper advertisement. CCTV camera footage obtained by the parents showed the girl with an unidentified man clad in a saffron dhoti and limping a lead they alleged police ignored. The parents, who suspect foul play including possible rape and murder, alleged that on their way to the Nagapattinam collectorate on May 9, GRP officials intercepted them, offering ₹5 lakh to drop the matter. They said they protested and headed to Chennai where they slept at Koyambedu bus terminus before filing through advocate M Mani a petition in Madras high court demanding a CB-CID probe, exhumation for a second autopsy by independent medical experts, and the return of the body for proper last rites.
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
4 arrested in Erode double murder case
Tamil Nadu police arrested a gang of three burglars and a jeweller, on Monday for their alleged involvement in the murder of an elderly couple in Erode district on April 28, officers aware of the matter said, adding that the three burglars have admitted that they were also involved in the triple murder that took place in Tiruppur's Palladam last year. Police identified the elderly couple as Ramasamy, 75, and his wife Bakkiyammal, 65, who were residing in their farmhouse in Erode. After the bodies were recovered, police launched an investigation into the murders and formed 12 special teams. Police first caught P Achiappan (48) on May 17 and he confessed to the murder and burglary, which led them to the arrest N Madeshwaran (53), and R Ramesh (52). Following investigation, the trio, who were associated with coconut trade, were arrested on Monday, police added. 'The accused attacked the couple using wooden sticks on April 28, and have confessed to the crime. They stole 20 sovereigns of gold. We have seized 82 grams of gold jewellery, which they gave to an Arachalure-based jeweller, Gnanasekaran, who melted them and kept the metal with him. Gnanasekaran was also arrested, and all four were remanded in judicial custody,' West Zone IG T Senthilkumar told reporters. According to Senthilkumar, their son, Kavishankar, who lives in a different village nearly 20 km away, tried to call their parents on May 1, but the phone calls were not answered. Worried, he called his relatives residing on neighbouring farms and asked them to go and check on his parents. They found the couple dead with multiple injuries and the bodies decaying in the farmhouse, he added. Police said that the three burglars have also confessed to having murdered another three people in a different case in November 2024. An elderly couple and their son were found dead inside a farmhouse in Tiruppur's Palladam and eight sovereigns of gold were missing. Since there was no headway in the case, it was transferred to the CB-CID in March. The accused primarily used to target older couples living alone, police added. 'On November 29 last year, a local barber had gone to their farmhouse and found the bodies of Deivasigamani, 78, his wife, Alamelu, 75 and their son, Senthil Kumar. The son who lived in the nearby Coimbatore district had come to meet his parents the previous night,' Senthilkumar said. 'Their involvement in other cases will be confirmed after taking them into police custody and following further investigation,' the IG said, adding that the three had previously been booked in theft cases. With inputs from PTI
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- The Hindu
Pollachi Sexual Assault Case: Life Terms for All Accused as CBI Probe Exposes Organised Racket
Published : May 13, 2025 20:50 IST - 5 MINS READ All nine accused in the sensitive Pollachi sexual assault case have been sentenced to life imprisonment after the Mahila Special Court in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, found them guilty of the heinous crimes of gang rape and extortion. There will be no remissions in their sentences. The crime gained national attention after it came to light in 2019 that a gang of youngsters with strong political connections had coerced scores of college and school-going girls and women into sexual acts. These acts were videotaped and used to blackmail the victims for money and further sexual favours. The incidents had been taking place in and around Pollachi town since 2014, but surfaced only after one of the victims mustered the courage to file a complaint at the Pollachi East police station on February 24, 2019. Following public outrage, the case was transferred first to the CB-CID and later to the CBI. On May 13, Judge R. Nandhini Devi found all nine accused—N. Sabarirajan (32), also known as Rishwanth; K. Thirunavukkarasu (34); M. Sathish (33); T. Vasanthakumar (30); R. Manivannan (32); P. Babu (33); T. Haronimus Paul (32); K. Arulanantham (39); and M. Arunkumar (33)—guilty. All of them hailed from Pollachi or nearby areas. Each accused was sentenced to a different number of life terms—one to five—all to run concurrently. Also Read | Suspended Tamil Nadu Special DGP sentenced to three years for sexual harassment Sections 376D (gang rape) and 376(2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman) of the IPC, which were invoked against the accused, prescribe rigorous imprisonment of not less than 20 years and can extend to imprisonment for the remainder of the person's natural life. In addition, the accused were charged under various other sections for criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, abduction, disrobing, and rape, as well as under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Sexual Harassment of Women Act. The judge also ordered a total compensation of ₹85 lakh to be paid to the victims. The CBI investigated the case and filed a 1,500-page charge sheet in which 48 witnesses, including eight girl victims, deposed. It submitted 200 documents and around 350 electronic documents and exhibits such as SIM cards, data and memory cards, laptops, mobiles and video clips. This evidence, CBI's Special Prosecutor Surendra Mohan said, was analysed by forensic and digital experts, and corroborated the statements of witnesses, enabling the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused beyond any doubt. 'Not even one witness turned hostile,' said the CBI counsel. The victims were given psychological counselling to help them come forward and file their complaints against the accused, and they were protected under the Witness Protection Act. 'It was a meticulously investigated case,' he added. A case with many twists The case was that Sabarirajan, based in Pollachi, would befriend young girls and women and lure them to a remote farmhouse, where they were sexually assaulted, often with others joining in. These assaults were videotaped and later used to blackmail the victims for money and further sexual favours. The victims were terrorised into silence, as the perpetrators, aged between 25 and 32, were politically well-connected. One of the accused, Arulanandam, who was then the AIADMK's Pollachi Youth Wing Town Secretary, was arrested in 2021. The seizure of mobile phones belonging to Sabareesan and his associate Thirunavukkarasu revealed the scale of the well-organised sex and extortion racket. Despite the gravity of the offences, only one victim came forward to file a complaint. The Pollachi East Police, which registered the FIR based on her statement, reportedly tried to dilute the case and protect the accused. Since then, a series of bizarre and troubling developments began to unfold. Victims were threatened, and the brother of the girl who first came forward to file the complaint was beaten up. Photographs of some of the accused posing with AIADMK Ministers were circulated in an apparent attempt to intimidate the victims. The government appointed a male officer as the Investigating Officer, which drew sharp criticism from civil society and the legal fraternity. The complainant's identity, including her mobile number, was leaked into the public domain. Another outrageous act followed: a Government Order (GO) dated March 13, 2019, issued by the Tamil Nadu Home Department in connection with the case, publicly revealed the name of the complainant, her college, and her brother's name. Also Read | Gang rape in Thanjavur exposes perpetrators' impunity and flaws in criminal justice system These blatant violations of legal safeguards by the then government sparked a nationwide uproar. Almost all major political parties, including the DMK, the CPI, and the CPI(M), took to the streets demanding a fair investigation. The DMK made it a key issue in its election campaign. Under mounting public pressure, the case was transferred to the CB-CID 20 days after the FIR was filed. However, as tensions escalated, it was eventually handed over to the CBI. The CBI was able to identify 12 girls as victims, but only eight agreed to come forward and file formal complaints. Despite the trauma and distress, all eight stood the trial with remarkable courage in their pursuit of justice. To ensure their safety, the accused were repeatedly denied bail. When a few of them challenged their detention under the Goondas Act in the Supreme Court, the State government strongly opposed their pleas, leading to the cancellation of their petitions. All the accused remained in Salem Central Prison for six years, which helped ensure the continued safety of the victims.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ma Su directed to appear in court for framing of charges
Chennai: A special court in Chennai has directed health minister Ma Subramanian and his wife Kanchana to appear in person on May 23 in connection with a land grab case .After Madras high court dismissed Ma Subramanian's petition to quash the case last week, the special court directed the couple to appear for framing of charges. When the matter was taken up on Monday, they were absent. Counsel for Subramanian and his wife sought a adjournment saying an appeal was pending before the Supreme the request, special judge G Prabhakaran adjourned the matter to May 23. He warned that if the couple failed to appear without obtaining a stay from the Supreme Court, charges would be framed in their case relates to a SIDCO-owned plot in Kotturpuram originally allotted to S K Kannan. It is alleged that Ma Subramanian, during his tenure as Chennai Mayor, misused his official position to transfer the land to his wife's name using fraudulent documents. A complaint by a Saidapet resident, Parthiban, led to a CB-CID probe and the filing of a chargesheet in 2019 under forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and Prevention of Corruption Act case is pending before the special court handling cases against MPs and MLAs.
