A special police team nabbed former Nagercoil MLA ‘Nanjil’ A. Murugesan, 53, who was wanted in connection with a case pertaining to the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl, with the connivance of her mother, from a farm near Thisaiyanvilai in the district on Wednesday.
The police arrested the former AIADMK MLA, who represented the Nagercoil Assembly segment between 2011 and 2016, from a farm where he was staying along with three others.
He has been booked under Sections 3(a) (penetrative sexual assault with sexual organ), 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault), 7 (sexual assault by touching vital organs but not penetrative), 8 (punishment for sexual assault), 11(3) (shows any object to a child in any form or media for pornographic purposes), 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) and 17 (punishment for abetment) of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting the girl in 2017.
With the arrest of Murugesan, the police have so far detained five persons in connection with this sensational case, as four others including the girl’s mother, Paul, 66, and Ashok Kumar, 43, of Idalakudi, and Karthik, 28, of Kottar, were arrested on Tuesday. The three men had also raped the girl with the connivance of her mother, it has come to light in the probe, police said.
Police sources said the victim from the district, now 15 years old, was rescued by law enforcers a few days ago after she eloped with a 20-year-old youth from Nagercoil. Police subsequently registered a case of kidnap against the youth since the girl is a minor.
When she recorded her statement even as she was produced before the court, the girl reportedly accused Murugesan, who had an illicit affair with her mother, of having raped her in 2017.
Shocking revelations
As the shocking revelations by the girl were taken up with the District Child Welfare Committee, the District Child Protection Unit lodged a complaint with the Nagercoil All-Women Police, who registered a case against Murugesan under various sections of the POCSO Act.
As Murugesan went underground after the case was registered, five teams were formed to look out for him. After arresting the girl’s mother and three others named by the victim, the special teams searched for Murugesan and finally nabbed him from the farm near Thisaiyanvilai.
Removed from party
Without giving any specific reason for his expulsion from the party, AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who are the Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister respectively, had on Monday stated that Murugesan had been removed from the primary membership of the AIADMK for bringing disrepute to the party and tarnishing its image.
