9-Year-Old Girl's Rape, Murder Sparks Protests In Puducherry, 2 Arrested

Hundreds of people on Thursday joined the funeral procession of a nine-year-old girl who was murdered and allegedly sexual assault in Puducherry. The body of the Class 5 student, who went missing on Saturday evening, was found on Wednesday inside a sack dumped in a drain, police said.

Her hands and legs were found tied with rope, they added. Police said a case of murder and sexual assault has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act.

Two men, including a 19-year-old, have been arrested and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate the case. Locals, who have been protesting against police inaction in the case, have alleged that the two men are known drug addicts.

The parents of the girl had filed a police complaint after she went missing on March 2 and a search operation was launched to trace her. Her body was found floating in a sack in a drain near her house and was later sent for post mortem, police said.

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangaswamy and Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan visited the family of the girl and announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh.

Ms Soundararajan said that the case would be tried by a special fast-track court. "The government will ensure that the culprits get maximum punishment. A fast-track special court will be set up immediately. They (the family members of the victim) said that the culprits should be given the death penalty. We can't take the laws into our hands, but emotionally, I'm on their side," she said.

On Wednesday, members of various organisations took to the streets condemning the heinous crime and blocked the Chief Minister's car demanding action in the case. The opposition INDIA bloc and AIADMK have separately called for a bandh tomorrow, to mount pressure on the Puducherry government.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the brutal crime has shocked the nation. "Be it Ankita Bhandari's family sitting on the road in Uttarakhand or the husband who hanged himself along with his children after not getting justice for the incident of misbehaviour with his wife in Madhya Pradesh, or the Spanish tourist who became a victim of gang-rape in Jharkhand, every such incident is a reflection of an insensitive system and a cruel society, which is a matter of introspection for us as a nation," he said in a post on X.