6-yr-old Dindigul girl found dead, kin suspect rape

The aggrieved relatives of the victim also sought transparency in conducting the post-mortem. The minor girl was alleged to have sexually abused and found murdered atthe village.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening, sources said. Apart from the relatives of the victim, cadre from the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), led by former MLA K Balabharathi, staged protest near Dindigul Government Hospital, demanding harsh punishment for the accused.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Dindigul Range, K Joshi Nirmal Kumar, when contacted, said sexual assault was not the cause of her death, but she was a victim of accident.

However, a juvenile was held in the case of alleged sexual assault.

According to Dindigul Superintendent of Police R Sakthivel, the actual cause of the death was said to be the head injuries sustained in the accident. After inquiring, the SP said the girl fell off a tractor, which was driven by a boy aged 15, accidentally and suffered head injuries.

The girl did not hold the tractor properly while she was travelling on undulated surface after returning from farm land.  The victim succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital. But, medical examination during post-mortem revealed that the girl was sexually abused.

This incident could have occurred earlier around 2.30 pm on the same day. Three, including a 17-year-old boy, who’s suspected to have abused the girl, the 15-year-old tractor driver and the tractor owner aged about 45 had been picked upfor interrogation.

On Sunday night, the Koombur police filed a case under Section 174 of the CrPC (suspicious death), based on a complaint lodged by Nagendran, father of the victim, the SP said.