Accused in Pollachi assault case in CB-CID custody

An accused in the case of assault on the brother of a 19-year-old woman, who was allegedly sexually harassed in nearby Pollachi, was Friday handed over to the CB-CID for interrogation for four days.

Manivannan, absconding for the last one month, had surrendered before Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) S Nagarajan on March 25 and was remanded to judicial custody till April 8.

His bail plea was rejected by the court Thursday.

The CB-CID, which is probing the case, moved a petition seeking 11 days' custody of him for interrogation.

The magistrate allowed four days custody.

Mani was the fifth to be arrested in the case.

They had allegedly beaten up the woman's brother for lodging a police complaint about the sexual harassment by a four-member gang on February 12.

The gang had allegedly tried to strip the woman inside a car near Pollachi, recorded the act and blackmailed her using the visuals.

The victim, who managed to free herself, lodged a complaint with the police.

Later, as the incident triggered state-wide outrage, the Tamil Nadu government ordered a CB-CID investigation and later transferred the case to the CBI.