Tamil Nadu is grappling with a disturbing surge in crimes against women and children, raising serious concerns about safety and law and order in the DMK ruled the state. In a particularly horrifying incident, a 10-year-old girl returning home from school near Gummidipoondi was sexually assaulted in an isolated stretch. The perpetrator, who had been following her, seized the opportunity when no one else was around. He reportedly gagged her mouth with one hand, lifted her, and despite her resistance, dragged her into a nearby thick bush to carry out the attack. CCTV footage of the harrowing incident has since gone viral on social media and visual media platforms, serving as a stark reminder of the dangers lurking on seemingly innocuous routes.
https://twitter.com/polimernews/status/1945448642535629179.
After the sexual assault, the attacker fled, leaving the traumatized girl behind. She managed to make her way home and recounted her ordeal to her grandmother, who promptly filed a police complaint. The victim was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for medical examination. Police have registered a case under the POCSO Act and have formed special teams to apprehend the perpetrator, utilizing the crucial CCTV footage.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K Annamalai condemned the incident, sharing a video on his X account and urging swift police action. He expressed deep anguish over the failure to arrest the accused even five days after the crime. “It is deeply painful even after five days since the crime, the culprit has not yet been arrested. The fact is that such criminals, who engage in sexual offenses without regard for the victim being a minor, are freely roaming outside shows how dangerous the environment society is in,” Annamalai posted, questioning if the bold attacker might have been involved in similar incidents before and emphasising the need for immediate apprehension to prevent further assaults.
https://twitter.com/annamalai_k/status/1945526054837481516
This incident is not isolated. In another alarming case, police recently arrested G. Palani, a 52-year-old car driver, for allegedly sexually exploiting at least 18 minor girls aged between 13 and 17 years over several months. Palani was employed at Thamni Illam Children’s Home for boys and girls in Unanmancherry Periyar Street, near Vandalur – a government-recognized institution. Investigations also led to the arrest of the home’s 70-year-old founder, Aruldoss, and his 40-year-old daughter, Priya Aaron Annadani, who managed the facility. The home, which housed 18 girls for 15 years, is located near the Tamil Nadu Police Academy.
The victims have been rescued and moved to the IGM open shelter for their safety and rehabilitation, while 16 boys from the home were given shelter in the SoS open shelter. This shocking expose came to light during a routine inspection by the District Child Welfare Committee, where some victims bravely disclosed their ordeal. Unconfirmed sources suggest both Aruldoss and Palani may have sexually assaulted up to eight girls.
கூடுவாஞ்சேரியில் உள்ள தனியார் காப்பகத்தில் 18 சிறுமிகளுக்கு பாலியல் ரீதியாக துன்புறுத்திய வழக்கு மத போதகர் உட்பட 3 பேர் கைது! #POCSO #CrimeAgainstMinors pic.twitter.com/z9QZWr8RTG
— AdvocatePrashanth (@Advocateklp) July 13, 2025
Beyond crimes against vulnerable individuals, Tamil Nadu’s educational institutions are also witnessing a troubling decline in discipline. On July 16, two Class 12 students were apprehended for brutally assaulting Shanmuga Sundaram, a political science teacher at a government school in Sivakasi, with a ‘liquor’ bottle on school premises. The incident unfolded when the teacher questioned a group of four Class 12 students for arriving late and found them to be inebriated. When asked to report to the headmaster’s room, two of the students attacked him with a liquor bottle they had concealed, causing injuries to his face and head before fleeing. The teacher was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
K. Annamalai, taking to X, condemned this incident, calling it “yet another crown in the feather cap of TN education department.” He highlighted that such a brutal attack in a government senior high school underscores a severe breakdown in student conduct.
https://twitter.com/annamalai_k/status/1945470962612470183
He also criticized Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi for allegedly prioritizing “gimmicks” like copying seating arrangements from other states over addressing pressing issues like the recent ceiling collapse at a government school in Maduranthagam that injured students. Annamalai urged the minister to focus on real educational challenges rather than “cinema shooting endeavors.”
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in the Sivakasi school; in December 2023, two Class 11 students from the same institution were held for attacking their Economics teacher with a machete and knife.
The rising instances of sexual assault, particularly on children, coupled with the alarming spread of liquor consumption, arms, and violence among students, paint a grim picture of the social and educational environment in Tamil Nadu.
