Attempt-to-murder claim by girl keeps cops on their toes

Tirupur: A possibly false claim by an 11-year-old school student kept a section of Avinashi police personnel on their toes for a few hours on Monday. She claimed that two people tried to slit her throat.

However, preliminary investigations revealed that no such murder attempt took place and the girl, who seemed to be 'psychologically-disturbed', had made a false claim. She is likely to undergo counselling soon.

The girl used to walk to school, police sources said. "As usual on Monday, she left the house in the morning and when she reached a nearby market, she started screaming that two motorcycle-borne people tried to pull her hands and all of sudden, one of them slit her throat and fled the spot. On seeing an injury on her throat, some of the commuters took her to the Nambiyampalayam Primary Health Centre for first-aid. She was then rushed to the Avinashi Government Hospital. Since the injury was minor, she was discharged within few hours from the hospital," a police officer said.

When the police conducted investigations, they could not come to a conclusion whether the injury was made using a small knife or finger nail. The girl claimed that she could not identify the 'offenders' as they were wearing a turban-like covering on their heads, said a police officer.

Further investigations found that the injury was self-inflicted and the girl could be psychologically disturbed. However, the Avinashi police have registered a case under Section 307 of the IPC (attempt to murder). Only after further investigations, the case could be altered (or closed), said Paramasamy, Avinashi deputy superintendent of police.