Coimbatore: Even after the special POCSO Court, awarded death sentence to Santhosh Kumar, the accused in the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Pannimadai here, the Police have begun investigations to nab the second accused.
Coimbatore: Even after the special POCSO Court, awarded death sentence to Santhosh Kumar, the accused in the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Pannimadai here, the Police have begun investigations to nab the second accused.
On December 26, a day before the verdict was set to be pronounced by the POCSO Court, the victim’s mother submitted a petition based on the forensics report regarding the involvement of another man other than the accused Santhosh Kumar.
The forensics report confirmed semen traces of another man apart from Santhosh Kumar.
After pronouncing the judgement on December 27 to Santhosh Kumar, Justice Radhika ordered the police department to commence investigation based on the forensics report which confirms involvement of another man. Accepting the plea putforth by the victim's mother to appoint a female officer, the judge ordered to proceed the investigations headed by a woman cop.
A team under the direct supervison of SP, Sujith Kumar, ADSP, Anitha and DSP Mani has been formed to probe the case. Anti-Child Trafficking wing, Inspector Anantha Nayaki and team are conducting investigations with the family members, neighbours, friends of Santhosh Kumar and others who were present on the day at the crime scene.
It is reported that the team has rounded -up five suspects who will be subjected to DNA tests, shortly.
The Case
On March 31, All Women Police arrested Santhosh Kumar of Uliyampalayam, Thondamuthur, here on charges of raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl from Pannimadai area in Thudiyalur here.
According to reports, Kumar, an interior decorator, had befriended the girl while he was staying at his grandmother’s house close to the girl's house in Thudiyalur On March 25, when the child was playing outside Santosh's house he lured the child into his house where he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed her, the police said.
According to reports, he had sexually assaulted the girl twice before and the girl resisted his attempts, he had strangulated her.
On the same day his grandmother who was bedridden died a few hours after Kumar had allegedly raped and murdered the girl. Making use of the situation, he dumped the girl's body at his home and waited for a chance to dispose.
In the wee hours of March 26, when his relatives who had come to attend his grand mother's funeral were asleep, he took the girl’s body and dumped it in a bush nearby.
The police said as he had dumped the body in his t-shirt, they were able to nab him easily.
Initially, the Thudiyalur Police had registered a murder case and began investigation. The next day, it came to light that the little girl had been raped, and later they transferred the case to the Thudiyalur All Women Police.
Special teams were formed under the direct supervisor of then Superintendent of Police R. Pandiarajan to arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime. In the first round, six persons were interrogated and four were eliminated from the list.
During subsequent rounds of investigation, the Police intensified the inquiries and Santhosh Kumar confessed to the crime
He was later booked under IPC section 376A (causing death of rape victim) in addition to 5(l) (Whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on the child more than once or repeatedly), 5(m) (Whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below twelve years) and 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
Santhosh Kumar who was married a few years ago got separated from his wife within a month of the wedding. He then moved to his grandmother’s house in January at Pannimadai to look after her.