Pollachi traders plan protest, shutdown on March 19

Pollachi/Chennai, March 16 (IANS) The trading community here is planning a protest shutdown on Tuesday and a rally demanding a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Pollachi serial sexual abuse-cum-blackmail case, said a shopkeeper.

Speaking to IANS, the the trader said the shutdown and rally will see participation of different political parties and social organisations.

After days of protests by students, political parties and various other social organisations it was relatively calm on Saturday here.

Four persons -- Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish, Sabarirajan, Vasanthakumar -- all in their 20s, have been accused of sexually assaulting women in Pollachi and filming the act to blackmail them for money or for physical submission for over seven years.

Students and other organisations hit the roads for the past several days demanding stringent punishment for the culprits.

The Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CBCID) has taken one of the prime accused -- Thirunavukkarasu -- to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

The CBCID got Thirunavukkarasu's custody on Friday. It has already written to social media organisations requesting them to remove the videos pertaining to the Pollachi abuse case.

On Friday, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court told the central government to remove all videos related to the Pollachi serial sexual assaults from the Internet.

In Chennai, a lawyer has filed a public interest litigation in the High Court for a court-monitored CBI probe. The petition was expected to come up for hearing next week.