This probably is the first case from the State in which capital punishment has been sought for those charged with raping a minor below 12 years after the Centre promulgated an ordinance in this regard in April.  

Inspector Immaculate Devotta of the Ayanavaram all-women police station, who spearheaded the investigation, submitted the charge sheet at the Mahila Court within the High Court premises on Wednesday, nearly two months after the incident was reported. The hearing is expected to commence on Friday.

When asked, a senior officer refused to divulge the contents of the 300-page charge sheet citing the matter being sub judice, but said the investigating team has collected all possible evidence based on the information that the victim provided to them.

It was only a week ago that the police detained the 17 accused persons under the Goondas Act, raising questions whether the team had enough evidence against the suspects. 

The incident came to light on July 17 when the girl narrated her seven-month-long ordeal to her elder sister, who had come home on a vacation from Delhi, leading to the arrest of 17 people that including security guards, lift operators, electricians and plumbers. The accused, in the age group of 23 to 66 years, were mostly services staff of the apartment complex.

The accused in the case are Ravikumar (56) of Ayanavaram, Suresh (32) of Kolathur, Rajasekar (40) of Ayanavaram, Erald Bross (58) of Perambur, BJ Sugumaran (65) of Kathirvedu, Abishek (23); Murugesu (54), Paramasivam (60), Palani (40), Jayaganesh (28), Gunasekaran (55), Babu (36), Deenadayalan (50), Jayaraman (26), Surya (23), M Raja (30), and Umapathy (42).