The mother of the 10-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered near Coimbatore alleged that she hadn’t given permission to cremate her child’s body. She further said that after the child’s post mortem, her husband signed the papers for the body’s release from the ESI hospital, took the body to his hometown Salem and cremated it.
“My child was burnt without my permission. I was waiting at the hospital but they took the child through the back.”
She said that she had decided not to accept the body till justice was served. “My family and I were not allowed inside the hospital. Only my husband and family were. We didn’t realise that the body was being taken away.”
She alleged that she was deprived of seeing her child’s body only because she refused to sign the papers. She has demanded a probe against her husband and family.
She also said that when they realised the body had been taken away, she rushed in a car to her husband’s place. But the cremation was performed without waiting for her.
She rejected allegations that she was under the influence of alcohol when the child was kidnapped.
The girl went missing on the evening of May 21 from Bharathipuram in Pallapalayam near Sulur. According to the police, she was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered. Her body was later found in a coconut grove near Kannampalayam.
Tamil Nadu police arrested two men in connection with the case on May 23. The prime accused, K Karthi, 33, was booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), while a second accused, Mohan, was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy.
West Zone Inspector General of Police Ramya Bharathi said police reviewed hundreds of CCTV camera recordings as part of the investigation. She said Karthi, who was known to the family, kidnapped the child before assaulting and killing her. Police also said he sustained fractures to his arm and leg after allegedly jumping from a building while attempting to evade arrest.
The case triggered widespread outrage in Coimbatore, with relatives and residents staging a protest outside the Sulur police station demanding swift action.
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay spoke to the girl’s parents over the phone on Sunday, May 24 and assured them that the accused would face stringent punishment.
Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban and Backward Classes Welfare Minister V Sampath Kumar also visited the family and gave Rs 7 lakh as relief assistance under provisions linked to the POCSO Act.
Parthiban later said the incident was “not just a loss for one family, but a tragedy for the entire state,” and said the government was committed to ensuring strict punishment for those responsible.
The case has also led to political reactions from across Tamil Nadu. BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran visited the family and demanded stronger action from the government, including compensation of Rs 1 crore for the family.
Meanwhile, there is also anger that IG Ramya Bharathi and two other police officers laughed before a press meet began.
