Chennai (Tamil Nadu), September 6: A ghastly incidence of serial sexual crime with minors and its direct relationship with hunger has come to fore in Chennai. The continuous dipping economic conditions in India seem to be the direct reason of the increase in offenders being able to create opportunities and manipulating victims in milking these opportunities, according to a top Indian psychologist.  

Chennai Police had embarked upon a normal crackdown to nab those indulging in selling gutka (chewing tobacco product) and ended up with catching A Perumal, a 48-year-old shopkeeper, and a serial rapist of minor girls. His child sexual assault escapades were revealed when the police officers examining his phone, to trace his source of supply, stumbled upon the saved videos of his sex with minors.    

Based on investigations till now, police officers are now confident that A Perumal was involved in five rapes of minors. The five survivors are aged 4,9,11,13 and 15. The rape survivors were all identified, rescued and sent to a government-run home for children.

But what should shake the conscience of all those who will ever come to know about this horrific crime is the fact that the mothers of two of these minors were complicit in the rapes of their own daughters and also of those whose guardians they were appointed as by their parents.   

The accused, A Perumal and the mothers of two of the girls who connived with him have been arrested and they have been charged under sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and various others section of IPC, including 376 (rape) and Information Technology Act.

Chennai police working on a tip-off, of those selling gutka, raided Perumal’s shop. The raid was successful and 30 packets of the banned product were confiscated. However, since the police also wanted to apprehend the dealer who was his source they wanted to reconnoiter his mobile phone.

Perumal however was strongly resisting this. “We grew suspicious and thought the phone had details of a godown where gutka is stacked,” said inspector E Rajeshwari. The police feeling it could lead to bigger confiscations, eventually seized two mobile phones from him, including an iPhone.

This was when Perumal’s streak of luck dried up and all his sexual crimes came to fore. “My head was spinning,” the officer says. “There were so many videos--some he had recorded with these five girls and a lot, he had downloaded from the internet.”

The videos which Perumal had downloaded were all adult pornography and didn’t involve children. Police as a next step has also sent his phones to a special team to examine if he had shared the videos of the children he had captured.

Deputy Commissioner R Karthikeyan said they are trying to ascertain if this has been going on for months or years. “There is a lot of obscene content on his phone. Only after forensic examination and gathering more evidence can we come to a conclusion,” he added.

Chennai Police said that the two women arrested are mothers of minors raped. They are also sisters and are also seen in the videos engaging in sexual acts with the 48-year-old accused. “The crime has happened with the children at their own homes with the mothers’ knowledge,” said an investigating officer who asked not to be named.

Once the police stumbled upon the videos they set out to find the victims. After finding the first child, a 9-year-old, reaching the remaining girls was rather quick and easy. “She said one of them was her cousin sister and the other three were their friends.” The parents of the other three girls didn’t know how their daughters were abused. They had left them with the two accused women when they went to work, said the police. “The children had not complained before but now when we are questioning them they are opening up,” added the officer.

Police said that money seems to be behind the involvement of the mothers in trafficking and sexual assault. Each time, Perumal paid each of the two mothers between ₹1,000 and ₹2,000. He also let them take groceries from his shop. “The husbands of these women brought no income. They did odd household jobs and said they were struggling to eat even one meal,” said the police. The other three girls were also from poor families and police said that they will remain in the government home until investigations are complete.

“These two mothers without any hesitation agreed to send their daughters in exchange for money,” Karthikeyan said. “Had we not checked his phone, this would never have come to light.”

Perumal’s wife and two adult children seem to be completely oblivious of his behaviour, police said. They are now investigating whether there are more victims.