Vachati case: Madras HC judge to visit tribal hamlet before giving judgment

Chennai, Feb 28 (IANS) Madras High Court judge Justice Velmurugan will be travelling to the Vachathi tribal hamlet on March 4 before pronouncing judgment in the three-decade-old rape and assault case of tribal women.

The court on Monday reserved orders in the appeal of the convicts who were government officials with the revenue, police, and forest departments of Tamil Nadu.

The government servants were convicted by a local court for raping 18 tribal women, assaulting more than 100 men and killing cattle on June 20, 1992 when they had visited the village for two days to investigate a sandalwood smuggling case and to get information on forest brigand Veerappan

According to the investigating officers, 155 forest personnel, 108 policemen and six revenue officials were involved in the case.

The case was probed by the CBI and a special court convicted 269 people on September 29, 2011. The convicts had moved the Madras High Court which has now reserved the judgment.

–IANS

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