Virudhunagar woman alleges DMK worker sexually harassed her minor daughter
The mother of the 16-year-old girl alleges that her daughter has harassed for a year now, and no action has been taken against the perpetrator since he belongs to the ruling party
The mother of a 16-year-old girl in Virudhunagar, in Tamil Nadu, has alleged that her daughter has been sexually harassed by a DMK worker for the past one year and that there has been no action against him since he belongs to the ruling party.
Speaking to The Federal, the mother said the family came to know about the harassment only when the girl told them that she was forced to talk on mobile phone to one Sulaiman, son of Senthamarai, a local Irukankudi village panchayat president.
“Soon after we came to know about it, we went with the girl to Sulaiman and threw the mobile phone at him. We asked him to stop torturing my daughter. But he, along with his aides, verbally abused me and my husband,” the mother said.
‘We were beaten’
“Later, they started beating my husband. When I attempted to stop them, they pushed me down and kicked me as well. We couldn’t do anything as there were just two of us,” the mother said.
Also read: Sexual harassment of girls, suicides on rise: What should Tamil Nadu do?
The couple suffered injuries and were admitted to the Virudhunagar government hospital later. The Virudhunagar police met the couple at the hospital and, on the basis of a written complaint, filed a case against Sulaiman and five others under various charges, including Section 354 (any man who assaults or uses criminal force on a woman or abets such an act with the intention of disrobing or compelling her to be naked) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act.
The matter is under investigation and no arrests have been made so far.
Facing threats, alleges the mother
Meanwhile, the girl’s mother has alleged that she is facing constant threats from the accused. “Panchayat president Senthamarai has been threatening us. Some people close to the accused have threatened us that they would kidnap my daughter and would kill me, my husband and my son. Since they have money and political power, we are helpless,” she said.
A senior police official in the district said that they have registered a case based on the complaint received from the woman. However, the case concerns an incident that happened on April 9 and is not about the harassment of the minor girl.
“In the hospital they only narrated the incident and did not file any complaint about the sexual harassment of the minor girl. We received a complaint only two days ago and we are probing it,” the official said.
