Life Sentence For 9 Convicts In Tamil Nadu's 2019 Pollachi Sex Assault Case

Six years after nine men were accused of sexually assaulting and blackmailing several women in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi, a court has pronounced them guilty. Sessions court Judge R Nandhini Devi found the men guilty of gangrape and repeated rape.

The judge ordered life sentences for all nine convicts - Sabarirajan alias Rishwanth, 32, Thirunavukarasu, 34, T Vasantha Kumar, 30, M Sathish, 33, R Mani alias Manivannan, P Babu, 33, Haron Paul, 32, Arulanantham, 39, and Arun Kumar, 33. They have been at the Salem Central Prison since their arrest in 2019 in the sensational case that gripped the nation.

This morning, they were brought to the court in Coimbatore under heavy police security; vigilance was intensified across the city. The court complex and other key locations were heavily guarded.

Over 200 documents and 400 items of electronic evidence, including forensic-validated videos of the assaults, were presented during the trial. "The survivors' testimonies, supported by digital proof, were pivotal. No witnesses turned hostile, and the Witness Protection Act ensured their identities and safety," said the public prosecutor.

However, he said only eight survivors officially reported the crimes they were subjected to, underscoring the fear of societal stigma and retaliation.

Women's rights activists welcomed the convictions but demanded a systemic follow-through. "This verdict is a relief, but survivors need compensation, counselling, and government job assurances to rebuild their lives," said a member of the Tamil Nadu Women's Collective.

The Pollachi Case

A chilling pattern of exploitation, involving at least eight women, including a college student, was exposed when the Pollachi case surfaced in 2019. The survivors were sexually assaulted, filmed, and blackmailed for sexual favours and money between 2016 and 2018.

Nine men were charged under stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rape, gangrape, repeated rape of the same survivor, criminal conspiracy, sexual harassment, and blackmail.

The convicts filmed their acts of sexual assault and used the footage to coerce victims into continued exploitation, the police said.

The case was initially probed by the Pollachi police, but it was transferred to the Tamil Nadu Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), and later to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) amid demands for an impartial inquiry.

During the probe, a pattern of systemic abuse was uncovered, with the survivors alleging that the accused threatened to leak their videos to their families and communities if they refused to comply.

The trial also drew scrutiny as a litmus test for justice in cases of gender-based violence, particularly those involving prolonged coercion and institutional delays. Women's rights advocates and civil society groups closely monitored the proceedings, emphasising the need for accountability where survivors often face stigma and procedural hurdles.

The AIADMK, which was then in power, had faced criticism for alleged attempts to cover up the case and the late filing of the FIR. It had then denied the charges, and the party had then expelled one of the accused then.