Houses of rapists` targeted in Coimbatore, people stage picketing

Coimbatore: Some people on Sunday targeted the houses of two of the five accused in the rape of a 13-year-old girl here, by pelting stones and demanding stringent action against them. Residents of Ramanathapuram in the city, where the girl was staying, also staged a dharna in the area, demanding that the case be expedited, so that all culprits, three of whom were aged between 55 and 70, get the harshest punishment, police said.

Earlier, some people hurled stones at the house of an accused, a 70-year-old retired compounder, who had allegedly administered an injection to make the girl unconscious, at the behest of the maternal uncle before sexually assaulting her, police said. They also targeted the house of another accused, a 58-year -old man. Meanwhile, 25 Youth Congress workers were taken into custody while attempting to picket near the city railway station, with some demanding capital punishment for the accused, police said. Five persons, including the maternal uncle of the girl, were arrested yesterday on charges of sexually abusing her during the last one month. The girl met the city Police Commissioner yesterday and lodged a complaint stating that her maternal uncle, under whose care she has been left by her parents, and four others had allegedly sexually abused her. PTI