14-year-old girl burnt to death in TN; AIADMK man, accomplice held

An AIADMK functionary and his accomplice were arrested on Monday (May 11) on the charge of burning a 14-year-old girl to death in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. Taking suo moto cognizance of the incident, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has directed the Collector to file a report.

The girl was a daughter of K Jayapal, who runs a petty shop next to his house in Sirumadurai village in the district. Once, he had a dispute with G Murugan, an AIADMK functionary and a former councillor, over his ancestral land. So, Murugan kept quarrelling with Jayapal, the police said.

On May 9, Kaliyaperumal, a friend of Murugan, visited Jayapal’s shop to buy cigarettes. He picked a fight with Jayapal’s son Jayaraj, who was present at the shop. Jayaraj sustained injuries and was later admitted to a hospital.

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On May 10, Jayapal and son file a complaint with the police against Murugan. This irked Murugan, who, along with Kaliyaperumal, went to Jayapal’s shop. Only his daughter was present there. So, the duo covered the girl’s mouth and tied her hands. Then, they took her inside the house and set her on fire.

Seeing smoke emerging from the house, neighbours rushed to the spot and took the girl to the Government Mundiyampakkam Medical College and Hospital. She had survived 90 per cent burns and was undergoing treatment. The girl gave a declaration to the police and the video of the same was doing the rounds on social media. However, the girl died on May 11 morning.

Later the police arrested Murugan and Kaliyaperumal. Following media reports, the NCPCR directed the Collector to file a report on the incident within a week. The people residing in the area have ruled out the possibility of caste angle, since both the victim and the perpetrators were from a Scheduled Caste.