Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries Pon Radhakrishnan today condemned the rape of two minor girls at Pollachi and sought severe punishment for the culprits.
Describing the incident as "shocking," he referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in Parliament that accused in sexual violence related incidents should be dealt with severely.
"Hostels for boys and girls - be it private or government- this incident only stresses that the safety and supervision should be within the administrative framework," Radhakrishnan, also the BJP state unit president, said in a statement.
Contending that the absence of security personnel was one of the reasons for such an incident, he said "severe action should be taken against the management. That would help in putting a full stop to such incidents in the future."
Radhakrishnan also lauded Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for arranging government hostel facilities and announcing a relief of Rs three lakh to parents of each of the survivors.
The incident occurred past midnight yesterday when two persons came to the hostel run by a church and asked for some water.When the girls fetched water for the duo, they pulled them by their hands and forcibly took them to a nearby complex and sexually assaulted them.
A boy in the hostel who witnessed the incident and had questioned the men was also thrashed by the duo.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had held a review meeting with her senior cabinet colleagues here yesterday and announced a relief of Rs three lakh to each of the survivors.
She had also asked officials to formulate guidelines for the safety of inmates in such hostels and said she had directed police to nab the culprits immediately.
