COIMBATORE: A 10-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered by her neighbour in Coimbatore on Thursday night, triggering protests and widespread condemnation on Saturday as the news spread.The child had gone missing around 5pm on Thursday while playing outside her house at Pallapalayam, where the family had moved 20 days ago. After her parents told the police, a case was registered by 10pm. Police formed five teams and started scanning footage from CCTV cameras in the area.Around 6pm on Friday, police found the child’s body near the Kannampalayam lake near Sulur. Meanwhile, they had zeroed in on a neighbour, 33-year-old K Karthi, a native of Nagapattinam district, after footage showed he had lured the child away from the place.Police traced Karthi to an apartment complex at Kannampalayam and nabbed him and a friend of his, R Mohan, 30, a resident of Bharathipuram, Pallapalayam, who had assisted Karthi in committing the crime. R V Ramya Bharathi, Inspector General of Police, West Zone, said, “We arrested both the accused within 24 hours of the complaint. A special police team surrounded an apartment complex in Kannampalayam where Karthi was hiding on the first floor.Accused broke his hand, leg in bid to escape, say policeIn an attempt to evade arrest, Karthi jumped from the first floor and sustained fractures to his right hand and right leg. He was subsequently apprehended by the special team.”Police said Karthi admitted to luring the child, sexually assaulting her, and later murdering her in a nearby coconut grove close to Kannampalayam lake.While Mohan was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody. Karthi, who suffered fractures, was admitted to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for treatment.Following criticism from leader of the opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and other political leaders, chief minister C Joseph Vijay vowed to ensure strict punishment for the culprits and promised to take steps for the safety of women and children.
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