Four policemen have been arrested and suspended from service following their alleged involvement in the sexual assault of a minor girl (17-year-old) in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, on the 5th of October, 2023. The incident occurred while the girl was visiting a tourist spot with a friend in a moving vehicle. The arrested officers have been identified as Sub-Inspector B. Sasikumar from the Jeeyapuram police station, Traffic Police Officer A. Siddharthan from the same station, J. Prasad from Navalpattu police station, and S. Shankar Rajapandian from the Thiruverumpur Highway Patrol team. Charges have been filed against them, including those under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

The incident occurred last week at Mukkombu, a prominent tourist destination in Tiruchirappalli. The girl and her 19-year-old boyfriend were approached by four men in plain clothes, who identified themselves as policemen and proceeded to interrogate the couple. The situation escalated when the girl’s boyfriend was physically assaulted, and she was forcibly placed in a car under the pretext of a drug-related inquiry. Allegedly, the girl was sexually assaulted in the moving vehicle for approximately an hour by the intoxicated assailants. Subsequently, the victim was released, but not before being threatened with arrest on drug-related charges if she disclosed the incident to anyone.
The suspension and arrests of the four policemen were initiated following a complaint filed by the minor girl. Further investigations into the matter are currently underway. Trichy District Superintendent of Police Varun Kumar has assured the public that appropriate action will be taken against the accused officers. This incident has raised questions about the state of law and order in Tamil Nadu, especially when the DMK is in power. It is to be remembered that the DMK promised “vidiyal” (dawn) if it came to power. The question is whether it was a promise of the dawn of good times or bad times.