Judge R Nandhini Devi of the Coimbatore Mahila Court is set to deliver the verdict in the Pollachi rape cases on May 13. The CBI identified 12 victims in total and 8 deposed in court. This is a modified version of the explainer we first published in 2019.
On February 12 this year, Priya (name changed), a 19-year-old college student in Pollachi, was contacted by her acquaintance, Sabarirajan. He told her that he wanted to discuss something important with her alone. Sabarirajan, who also goes by the name Riswandh, asked Priya to meet him at a bus stop in Pollachi.
When Priya arrived at the bus stop in the afternoon, Sabarirajan was standing near a car with his friend Thirunavukkarasu, who was also known to her. The duo asked her to get into the car, saying they would talk on the way. Thirunavukkarasu started driving the car, while Sabarirajan sat in the back seat with Priya.
Suddenly, two more men — Sathish and Vasanthkumar — got into the car. The four men then forcefully disrobed Priya and recorded a video of the assault. They also snatched a gold chain she was wearing.