Man held for sexually abusing minor

NAGERCOIL: A youth was arrested on charges of raping a seven-year-old girl, near Thiruvattar on Thursday. The victim’s mother had left the girl and her sister, , under the care of her grandparents after she separated from her husband. On July 29, while the children were returning to their grandparents’ house after school, Manikandan (20), a daily wager intercepted the kids, took the 7-year-old girl to a nearby plantation and sexually assaulted her.  On seeing this, the victim’s sister ran to her grandmother and brought her to the spot. The old lady pelted stones at Manikandan and drove him away.On August 16, as the child was suffering from pain in her private parts, she was taken to the GH at Aasaripallam.  However, as the pain did not subside, she was taken to the GH again on the following day. This time, the doctors questioned the child and came to know about the incident and subsequently alerted the police.  Based on a complaint, the Thiruvattar police filed a case and and arrested Manikandan on Thursday.