Fake NCC trainer, arrested for sexually assaulting schoolgirl, dies in hospital; father killed in accident
Jayashree Muralidharan, head of the multi-disciplinary team and Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment, and IGP (West Zone) and SIT head K. Bhavaneeswari addressing the media in Krishnagiri on Friday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The prime accused in the sexual assault of school girl(s) during a fake NCC camp at a private school in Krishnagiri died at the Salem government medical college hospital in the early hours of Friday. The police cited a suicide bid, which he had undertaken prior to his arrest, as the reason.
The accused Sivaraman, 35, was on ventilator support over the last few days after his condition deteriorated, the police said. By a strange coincidence, his father Ashok Kumar died in a road accident in Krishnagiri district on Thursday night. The death of the father and the son triggered demands for an inquiry by the Opposition parties as well as some allies of the ruling DMK.
Sivaraman was the main accused in the sexual assault on a 12-year-old girl at a fake NCC camp held at a private school, where over 41 students, including 17 girls, were in the residential “camp” from August 5 to August 9. The alleged sexual assault on the survivor occurred in the early hours of August 9. A complaint was filed on August 16, after the girl was admitted to the government medical college hospital with pelvic pain. A First Information Report was registered on August 17 and a search was launched for Sivaraman.
The accused, who was arrested in the early hours of August 19 was brought to the government medical college hospital here with a fractured leg. The fracture was put down to a fall he had sustained while trying to escape from the police.
Krishnagiri Superintendent of Police P. Thagadurai told The Hindu that during the first few hours of the medical examination, Sivaraman revealed that he had consumed a poisonous substance on August 17 and 18, fearing arrest.
“The doctors did blood and other tests and that was when he revealed that he had taken poison two days before. The same was recorded by the doctors in the medical history sheet. Since he required dialysis, he was transferred to the Salem government medical college hospital,” he said.
Sivaraman was under treatment till August 21 in the Krishnagiri medical college hospital and transferred to the Salem medical college hospital the same day. He was on dialysis and then put on ventilator support, said Mr. Thangadurai, adding that Sivaraman had allegedly attempted to end his life in a similar fashion a month ago and was hospitalised. The police circulated his earlier discharge summary from a private hospital in Krishnagiri to substantiate their claim. He was reportedly under treatment from July 9 to 17, according to the discharge summary.
According to the SP, the medical condition of the accused at the time of admission was part of the medical record, “which is an independent record and it was not police information… ”At first, we were not sure whether he was speaking the truth about his suicide bid and there were no symptoms at the time of his arrest. According to doctors, the symptoms would show up only after 48 hours or 72 hours,” he said.
On Wednesday, Sivaraman was showing symptoms of jaundice and his condition began to deteriorate. “We knew that the next stage would be kidneys and that would require dialysis. So with life-support, we transferred him to the Salem government medical college hospital,” said Mr.Thangadurai, reiterating that there was no ‘secrecy’ over that detail.
This was corroborated by local Naam Tamilar Katchi sources. The accused was a NTK youth wing district secretary till he was stripped of his post.
Death of father
In a separate incident, Sivaraman’s father Ashok Kumar died in a freak accident, falling from his moped at Therpatty near Kaveripattinam at 11.30 p.m. on Thursday. Amid speculation over the death a few hours before his son died, Mr. Thangadurai said, “This was a pure accident and there is nothing to it. The family had taken the body.”
CCTV footage from the area, produced by the police, showed an inebriated Ashok Kumar getting off his moped, staggering, losing his balance and falling on the road, slamming his head.
Preliminary information revealed an enlarged heart as the cause of death. “We are suspecting cardiac arrest. But we are awaiting the autopsy report and the chemical analysis report,” said Mr.Thangadurai.
In the wake of the deaths and the speculation, the Krishnagiri police have warned people against spreading rumours. Sivaraman got married four years ago, and had a 3-year-old daughter.
The sexual assault also brought to light an active bid to cover up and collective silence on part of the school management and the staff, those of whom were made aware of a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012) crime, making it a punishable offence.
The police had arrested 10 others, including the school correspondent, the principal, and two teachers, for not reporting the crime even after it was brought to their notice by other students. One of the arrested teachers is the mother of a girl student, in whom the girl had confided but the teacher failed to act by alerting the police.
According to the FIR, principal Sathishkumar, 39, had also told the girls, who had gone to him for action, not to disclose it to their parents. He, according to the survivor’s account in the FIR, gave her 3 medals, while the others were only given a shield.
As the crime unfolded early this week, the National Cadet Corps headquarters clarified that no such NCC camp was organised in Krishnagiri and it was a fake camp.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)
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