Autorickshaw driver arrested for raping 15-year-old girl

ed:saju

Coimbatore: Police on Thursday arrested a 32-year-old man for raping a 15-year-old girl near Podanur. They also arrested his two friends for helping him in the crime.

The arrested people were identified as Selvam, a goods autorickshaw driver and resident of Gandhi Nagar in Podanur and his friends Rajan, 35, a tea seller in Podanur and Suriyaraj, 30, of Eachanari.

The victim is an inmate of a children’s home in another district and a class X student, police sources said. “She had returned to her hometown near Podanur due to the Covid-19 lockdown. On June 1, she went to visit her friend, but the family did not allow her to enter the house. Selvam noticed the girl, who was in tears, and offered help. He was a casual acquaintance of her family and took her to Rajan’s house in Podanur, where Rajan’s family gave her dinner. Selvam, who was under the influence of alcohol, raped the girl several times at night,” a police officer said.

The next day, Selvam asked Suriyaraj to bring his car to Podanur. Selvam, Suriyaraj and Rajan took the girl to Pollachi in the car. Though they decided to keep the girl in a home in Pollachi, the trio later left her near her house in Podanur.

Meanwhile, the girl’s father had lodged a missing complaint with the Podanur (law&order) police. The girl told police that she was raped by Selvam.

Police arrested Selvam for raping the girl and his two friends for helping him. They have been lodged in the Avinashi sub-jail.