Dharmapuri: The Dharmapuri police heaved a sigh of relief after the grieving parents of a minor girl, who was raped and dumped by two youth in a bush last week in a village in Harur taluk and who later died, agreed on Monday to cooperate with the police by allowing the autopsy of the dead victim.
The hapless girl was admitted in the Dharmapuri government Medical College and hospital (DGMCH), where she died she died on Saturday around 6.10 am.
Her relatives after the incident had been protesting for three days till Monday late evening, which mounted tension in the DGMCH campus, where her body was kept in the mortuary.
The protesting group demanded action against the staff of the Harur government hospital for not giving treatment to the victim and also to initiate action against the police officers for their dereliction of duty.
The protest was withdrawn late on Monday evening after the talks with parents by the police and the revenue department officials. The relatives agreed to receive the dead body after the post- mortem procedure was competed.
The high drama ended as the district SP (in-charge) D. Mahesh Kumar persuaded the relatives about the chances of the evidence disappearing if the autopsy was delayed further. This could help criminals escape from getting punished by the law, he said.
A team of medical experts then started performing the autopsy, which was in progress at time of filing of this report. The girl's body will transported with police protection to her native Sittling village in Harur taluk of Dharmapuri district.
Sources said, Muthu Krishnanan, the inspector of police for the Kottapatti police station and Ms. Baby Uma, sub-inspector for the A.Pallipatti police station, both investigating officers for the case, were ordered to be in the waiting list till further orders.
It may be recalled that the victim who belongs to Malayali tribal community, stayed in the government-run hostel and was studying plus-two in Pappireddipatti government higher secondary school.
The girl came to her native Sittling village to celebrate Deepawali festival. At around 11.30 am last Monday (November 5) she had ventured out of her house to answer nature's call.
Her relatives S. Satish and P. Ramesh, both 22-years-old, accosted the girl and then they allegedly raped her in turns.
This incident came to light after her parents came home. They when informed about the incident, took the girl to the Kottaipatti police station. They later went to the police station on the following day, as the village has no direct bus facility.
The police admitted the girl in the Harur government hospital. Later, she was sent to the home for the destitute women and children in Dharmapuri. The staffs at the home admitted her in the DGMCH when she fainted after vomiting. The poor girl died without responding to treatment, sending shock waves across Tamil Nadu and beyond.
