53-year-old DMK councillor in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district was on Wednesday arrested on charges of sexually abusing a six-year-old schoolgirl, and the ruling party expelled him. Speaking about the incident, Chief Minister M K Stalin told the Assembly that the girl had complained of stomach pain after returning home on Tuesday. After she was taken to a local hospital for medical examination, the doctors informed her parents that the girl had been sexually abused, he added. Stalin said that on receiving a complaint from the girl’s mother, police acted swiftly and arrested Virudhachalam municipality councillor V Pakkirisamy, who is also the correspondent of the girl’s school. He also said the district child welfare officer was also investigating the complaint.
“This government considers those who commit crime, especially against women and children, as a disgrace to mankind. I would like to inform this hall that whoever the wrongdoers are, without any bias, we will initiate stringent action against them,” the chief minister said, adding that Pakkirisamy was stripped of all party posts. In a press release, DMK general secretary Duraimurugan said the party had dismissed Pakkirisamy, the councillor arrested on charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. However, Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, who addressed the reporters after staging a walkout from the Assembly, said that though Stalin claimed to have directed the councillor’s immediate arrest, no FIR was registered until Wednesday morning. He said the government took action after people started to protest in Cuddalore and surrounding areas. “After the DMK assumed office, incidents of sexual assault have increased. This is a horrible incident, highly condemnable,” said the AIADMK general secretary.