Young boy cleared in 2021 ‘rape and murder’ case in TN

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Tamil Nadu police have cleared a teenage boy, who was arrested on charges of raping and murdering a tribal woman in Chengalpattu district in 2021, after finding that the woman died of internal organ failure. The police said that there was not the slightest evidence against the young man.

The story begins in October 2021, when police arrested the then 15-year-old boy, who would soon turn 18, in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 52-year-old tribal woman under Thirukazhukundram station limits. The woman disappeared from her home a few days before the teenager’s arrest. He was later found dead next to a rock half a kilometer from his home.

After questioning the woman’s family members, police tracked down the child the woman knew, based on the last-seen theory. Last seen theory is a legal principle used to determine guilt in criminal cases in India: If

Based on the complaint filed by the woman’s husband, Thirukazhukundram Police detained the youth under sections 376 (rape) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was captured, subjected to judicial process and then placed in an observation home on the instructions of the Magistrate.

However, on the orders of Northern Inspector General of Police Asra Garg, police officers in Chengalpattu district recently started re-investigating the case with a new approach.

Mr Garg said Hindu“We received specific information from a public figure that the child’s role might be examined, and they insisted that the child did not appear to be linked in any way to the woman’s death. We therefore requested further investigation of the case; It was re-executed.”

By examining the autopsy and pathology reports, the statements of neighbors and other villagers, the police determined that the victim died due to internal organ failure and health impairment.

“Upon detailed examination, it was revealed that the child actually had no role in the death of the victim. Therefore, a closure report was submitted in the case and the child was acquitted,” said Mr. Garg.

Vidya Reddy of Tulir – Center for Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse followed up the matter with police officials after reading news about the incident.

Mr Vidya said: “When we read about the case in the newspaper, we had doubts about the boy’s involvement in the case, given the age difference (between him and the woman) and the autopsy which indicated no crime. external injury.

“The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012 considers anyone below the age of 18 as asexual and any sexual activity with persons below the age of 18 is an offence. “The deceased adult victim would have been considered the abuser had he been alive,” he added. If the genders had been reversed (for example, if the case had involved a 15-year-old girl and a 50-year-old man), the adult rapist would have been widely said to have deserved his fate, he noted.

“We were constantly discussing the case with senior police officials and a wrong was righted with the intervention of Mr. Garg, who ordered a re-investigation.”

Ms Vidya said investigations into sexual offenses should not be carried out as a routine task, but should be considered contextually, taking into account various factors.