Six years after nine individuals were charged with sexually assaulting and blackmailing multiple women in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, a court has found them guilty. Sessions court Judge R Nandhini Devi declared the men guilty of gangrape and repeated rape.
The judge sentenced all nine defendants to life imprisonment – Sabarirajan, also known as Rishwanth, 32, Thirunavukarasu, 34, T Vasantha Kumar, 30, M Sathish, 33, R Mani, known as Manivannan, P Babu, 33, Haron Paul, 32, Arulanantham, 39, and Arun Kumar, 33. Since their arrest in 2019 in the high-profile case that captivated the country, they have been held at the Salem Central Prison.
This morning, they were taken to the court in Coimbatore with substantial police protection; security measures were heightened throughout the city. The court facility and various important sites were strongly secured.
More than 200 documents and 400 pieces of electronic evidence, featuring forensic-validated videos of the attacks, were shown throughout the trial. “The accounts of the survivors, bolstered by digital evidence, were crucial. No witnesses became adversarial, and the Witness Protection Act guaranteed their identity and security,” stated the public prosecutor.
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Nonetheless, he mentioned that merely eight survivors formally disclosed the crimes they experienced, highlighting the fear of social stigma and retaliation.
Activists for women’s rights celebrated the convictions but called for a comprehensive approach moving forward. “This ruling brings some relief, but those affected require financial support, counselling, and government job assurance to restore their lives,” stated a representative of the Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective.
Pollachi Sexual Assault Case
A disturbing trend of abuse, involving a minimum of eight women, one of whom was a college student, came to light with the emergence of the Pollachi case in 2019. The survivors were subjected to sexual assault, recorded, and extorted for sexual services and money from 2016 to 2018.
Nine individuals faced charges under strict sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), such as rape, gang rape, repeated assault of the same victim, criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, and extortion.
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The Pollachi police initially investigated the case, but it was handed over to the Tamil Nadu Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), and subsequently to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) due to calls for an unbiased investigation.
Throughout the investigation, a trend of systemic mistreatment was revealed, with the victims claiming that the accused threatened to share their videos with their families and communities if they did not comply.
The trial also garnered attention as a benchmark for justice in gender-based violence cases, especially those marked by extended coercion and systemic delays. Advocates for women’s rights and civil society organizations closely observed the proceedings, highlighting the necessity for accountability, as survivors frequently encounter stigma and procedural challenges.
