Tamil Nadu crime rate back in focus as toddler raped, killed in Tiruvallur

Days after Chief Minister Vijay launched the Singappenn Special Task Force to offer protection to women and children, Tamil Nadu was rocked by the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Thiruvallur district.

The toddler was playing near her home on Sunday when she allegedly disappeared. A neighbour later recalled seeing a migrant worker lead the child into a room but thought nothing of it, since both families were part of the same migrant community living in the locality.

Mother's search ends in tragedy

When the girl had not returned by evening, her mother raised an alarm. Searchers eventually found the child abandoned in a thorny bush nearby, grievously injured. She was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.

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Police identified the accused as Vibin Manch, 19, from Bihar. Residents said he had enticed the toddler with a packet of biscuits before leading her away. "He took her away after offering her biscuits. She was found near a thorny bush, her condition very serious," a neighbour recounted. Manch has since been arrested, and a formal investigation is underway.

Opposition questions TVK government

The incident has reignited a charged debate over the safety of women and children in Tamil Nadu, a subject that dominated the recent state election campaign. DMK MP Kanimozhi said she was left frozen with shock upon learning of the assault, and questioned whether the government was doing enough to maintain law and order.

DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin went further, alleging that crimes against women had grown alarmingly frequent since the TVK government took power and that the state's law-and-order machinery was "on life support." He called on Vijay to urgently convene senior police officials and issue tougher directives on crime prevention.

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Raising crimes in Tamil Nadu

NCRB data indicates that crimes against women in Tamil Nadu have risen sharply in recent years. The state recorded 9,207 cases in 2022, 8,943 in 2023 and 11,363 in 2024.

The latest figure from 2024 marks a 27 per cent jump from the previous year, with police registering 419 rape cases, 1,911 kidnappings and abductions of women, and 3,344 cases of cruelty by husbands or relatives.

It turned out to be one of the criticisms against DMK government during the election rallies, and Vijay had then sharply criticised the Stalin government. Speaking last month in Trichy about the rising crimes in the state, Vijay said the DMK government had allowed the issue to breed during their rule, and were now blaming him for it.