COIMBATORE: A 20-year-old man has been arrested for marrying a 17-year-old girl and raping her.
Police identified the accused as C Velmurugan, a native of Thoothukudi district. He was employed with a private travels firm at Gandhipuram in the city.
A police officer said Velmurugan had befriended the girl in February 2020, when he arranged a vehicle for her family to attend the Maha Shivratri function. “They exchanged their mobile phone numbers and became close friends. They subsequently fell in love and eloped and got married in a temple two weeks ago.”
The girl’s parents lodged a complaint with the city police, who registered a girl missing case and traced her to Thoothukudi. Police rescued her on Monday morning and brought her, along with Velmurugan, to the east all-woman police station, where police inspector Amutha held an inquiry with them.
Police registered a case against Velmurugan under Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage etc.,) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 5 (l) (penetrative sexual assault) and 6 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and Section 9 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. After arresting him, he was produced before the special court for Pocso cases and lodged in jail under judicial custody.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)