Two schoolgirls abducted from church hostel in Tamil Nadu and raped

Why was the hostel allowed to function?

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The News Minute | June 12, 2014 | 11:18 pm IST

Two schoolgirls living in a hostel in Tamil Nadu's Pollachi town were sexually assaulted on Thursday. A man reportedly entered the hostel of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pollachi early on Thursday. The girls aged 10 and 11 were abducted at knife poiint and taken to a building next to the hostel, where they were raped.

Other children in the hostel noticed around 2 am that the girls were missing and informed the warden.

Police sources say the hostel was being run for the last 20 years without proper permission.The hostel is located in the premises of Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC).

The Times of India quotes Sherin Philip, district social welfare officer saying that though a show cause notice was issued to get authorisation last year, no action was taken by the church.

A man has been detained under suspicion by the police. Sources tell The News Minute that only one girl was in any condition to give a statement and she kept repeating the word, "Guru".

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa announced a solatium of Rs.300,000 each for the girls. She also ordered officials to apprehend the culprit and draft safety rules for girls and women's hostels in the state.

In her statement, Jayalalithaa said the hostel warden was on leave and his deputy instead of staying at the hostel had gone home that night resulting in such an incident.

The police official said the girls were staying in the hostel together. One girl has been in the hostel for the past four years and the other girl had moved in three days back.

Inputs from IANS