In a significant development in the 2019 Pollachi Sexual assault case, all the nine accused are convicted. On Tuesday, the Mahila Special Court in Coimbatore convicted all nine men accused in the abuse case. The case was one of a kind, gruesome and so troubling that it shocked the entire Tamil Nadu and the nation.

The Mahila Special Court Judge R. Nandhini Devi found the accused guilty of gang rape, repeated sexual abuse, blackmail, and criminal conspiracy. Furthermore the court is expected to pronounce the quantum of punishment at noon.

Widespread Abuse and Digital Blackmail

The gruesome case came to light in the year 2019. The case exposed a disturbing pattern of sexual exploitation by a gang of men in Coimbatore’s Pollachi district. According to reports’ between the year 2016 and 2018, the accused lured young women into traps.

This includes young college going students, into secluded locations under the guise of friendship. Once lured, they then sexually assaulted them, and recorded the acts on their phones. The videos of the assault were then used to blackmail the survivors for further sexual exploitation and money.

After three long years of the gang’s dirty work, a complaint from one of the survivors disclosed the case. Following the complaint, investigations revealed at least eight victims had been targeted. The survivors were counselled and later deposed in court under strict confidentiality protections.

The nine men convicted

1. Thirunavukarasu

2. Sabarirajan alias Rishwanth

3. Vasanthakumar

4. Satheesh

5. Manivannan

6. Haron Paul

7. P. Babu

8. Arulanandam

9. Arun Kumar

According to reports, all the accused are natives of Pollachi and were arrested in 2019. Three of the convicts namely Paul, Babu, and Arulanandam were former AIADMK functionaries. All the convicts are charged under 13 sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They have been held without bail at Salem Central Prison for six years.

The charges include

1. Gang rape

2. Repeated rape

3. Sexual harassment

4. Criminal conspiracy

5. Blackmail

Digital Evidence Played Key Role

Tamil Nadu’s CB-CID investigated the case initially. However, the case was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) amid widespread public outrage. The CBI filed a 1,500-page charge sheet in May 2019.

It further presented over 200 documents and 400 digital files in the court. In addition to this, forensic analysis, including retrieval of deleted files and timestamp verification, played a crucial role in proving the charges against the accused.

Surendra Mohan the public prosecutor highlighted the strength of the prosecution’s case. He stated that 48 witnesses were examined and none of them turned hostile. Eight among the survivors bravely testified in court, their identities were kept confidential.

Prosecution Seeks Life Imprisonment

The prosecution sought life imprisonment until death for all nine convicts. He cited the repeated nature of the assaults and the trauma inflicted on the victims. Mohan stated, “This is a rare and heinous case. The survivors were subjected to repeated gang rapes, and we have argued for consecutive life sentences. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that no leniency should be shown in such cases.”