A gang in Coimbatore targeted young women, befriended them, lured them into secluded places, and sexually harassed them while filming the acts.
Published May 13, 2025 | 11:32 AM ⚊ Updated May 13, 2025 | 1:08 PM
Six of the nine accused in the case.
Synopsis: A women’s court in Tamil Nadu convicted all nine accused in the 2019 Pollachi sexual assault case. Based on a complaint, a case was filed under 13 different sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The Coimbatore Mahila Court in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, 13 May, found all nine accused in the 2019 Pollachi sexual assault case guilty. Justice Nandini Devi sentenced all of them to life imprisonment and ordered a total compensation of ₹85 lakh to the survivors.
The court has also imposed a fine of ₹1,50,000 on the convicts. Following the pronouncement of the sentence, the convicts are being transferred to the Salem Central Prison.
In 2019, a shocking case of sexual violence came to light in Pollachi in the Coimbatore district, where college students and young women were sexually assaulted and filmed by a gang.
The trial was held in the Coimbatore Mahila (Women’s) Special Court. With the completion of witness examination, arguments from both the prosecution and the defence, the court convicted all the accused.
A gang in Coimbatore targeted young women, befriended them, lured them into secluded places, and sexually harassed them while filming the acts. The case came to public attention after one of the survivors, who had been threatened by the same gang, filed a complaint.
Based on her complaint, a case was filed under 13 different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including charges of sexual assault and criminal conspiracy, against nine individuals.
Those accused are Sabarirajan (30), Vasanthakumar (32), Satheesh (33), Manivannan (30), Thirunavukkarasu (30), Heron Paul (34), Babu alias Bike Babu (38), Arulanandam (38), and Arunkumar (36), all natives of Pollachi. Considering the seriousness of the crime, all nine accused were denied bail for six years.
Among the accused, Paul, Babu and Arulanandam were former AIADMK functionaries.
Initially probed by the state police, the case was transferred to the CBI on 25 April 25 2019. Subsequently, on 21 May 2019, the central agency filed a chargesheet at the Coimbatore Mahila Court against all nine accused.
The court sentenced the convicts under Sections 376(d) and 372(n) of the IPC, and awarded compensation to the survivors.
Since the case involves a total of eight survivors and multiple FIRs, the court sentenced the convicts based on their involvement in specific cases. For instance, Accused no. 1, Sabarirajan, who was found guilty in four separate cases, has been sentenced to four life terms.
Details of sentencing:
Each sentence corresponds to the number of cases in which they were found guilty.
In view of the prolonged nature of the proceedings, the Madras High Court directed that a special courtroom be allocated to speed up the trial. Mobile phones and laptops seized from the accused served as key evidence in the case. A 1,500-page chargesheet was submitted in court.
CBI Special Public Prosecutor Surendra Mohan told reporters: “All nine accused have been found guilty by the judge. The prosecution has argued that they should be sentenced to life imprisonment until death.”
“Since the identities and safety of the survivors were strictly protected, none of the eight survivors turned hostile during the trial. Even the minimum punishment under the law in such cases is 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. Given that the women were subjected to repeated gang sexual assaults, we have requested the court to award consecutive sentences,” he said.
Meanwhile, the defence argued for the minimum sentence, citing the accused’s age and health conditions.
The All India Democratic Women’s Association welcomed the verdict and raised slogans in support of the judgement outside the court.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose.)
