Mentally-challenged girl's rape: AIADMK hits out at DMK govt for acting "negligently"

Dec 09, 2024

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 9 : All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami has accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government and the police of "negligence" in the alleged rape case of a mentally challenged college student.
"The news that a mentally disabled college student was repeatedly sexually assaulted by more than 10 people in Chennai's Chintadripet is shocking. While the victim's father has already reported the matter to the police station, the police of the DMK government have acted very negligently as usual and they have ignored the complainants," AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami posted on X.
"Did the police of MK Stalin government know that when a complaint is received about crimes against women, it should be taken seriously and investigated properly and promptly?" Palaniswami remarked.
The AIADMK General Secretary further accused the DMK government of failing to create a safe environment for women while also accusing the state government of handling cases against women in a "lax" manner.
"I strongly condemn the DMK government for not only creating a situation where women, school and college students, are constantly threatened but also for handling cases against women in a lax manner," Palaniswami said.
Senior AIADMK leader Palaniswami urged Chief Minister MK Stalin and his government to ensure that all those involved in this case are punished.
"I urge MK Stalin, DMK government to ensure that all the culprits involved in this case receive strict legal punishment, and to prevent these kind of crimes against women, I urge to conduct a serious investigation into such complaints without delay," he added.
Two people were arrested on Saturday after Chennai All-Women Police Station registered a complaint in connection with a rape case, police said, adding that they were looking for at least seven other individuals involved in the crime.
The mentally challenged victim, studying at a private college in Chennai, opened up to her father about the incident naming two individuals - Naresh and Suresh - who belong to Tiruvallur district.
The two individuals took her to a lodge on Wall Tax Road in Chennai and raped her repeatedly, police said.
After learning about the crime, the victim's father filed a complaint at the Ayanavaram Police Station. The initial investigation stated that the victim was introduced to the accused last year through a mutual friend who studied at her college. The preliminary investigation also revealed that she was raped by a few others who befriended her on social media platforms.