TN Police for mental assessment test of juvenile accused in Vellore gang-rape case

Chennai: The juvenile accused in the Vellore gang-rape case would be subjected to a mental assessment test, Vellore district superintendent of Police has said.

SP Rajesh Kannan, while speaking to IANS, said: "We will be conducting a mental assessment test of the seventeen and half-year-old who is one among the accused in the Vellore gang-rape. The assessment will be conducted on Thursday and we want to measure the mental maturity of the youth."

According to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act, the mental maturity test can decide whether a juvenile aged between 16 and 18 years of age and who commits a serious crime can be treated as an adult.

The Vellore gang-rape occurred on March 16, when the victim, a doctor, after watching a movie with her male friend was returning to the private hospital where she was working. The woman and her male friend got a lift in a sharing auto but the driver and others in the vehicle, including the juvenile, abducted them and gang-raped the woman.

The gang also forced the male friend to withdraw money from the ATM counter using his debit card and fled the spot.

A case was registered after the woman doctor filed an online complaint and nabbed the accused six days after the crime.

Those under judicial custody other than the juvenile are, R. Parthiban, R. Barath, V. Manikandan, and Santosh Kumar. Parthiban and Bharat are brothers and all are detained under Goonda Act.