MADURAI: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped here by a 50-year-old man. Police have arrested the man and are questioning his friends for threatening the girl’s family not to lodge a police complaint.

The girl, who suffered bleeding and fever has been admitted in the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH). “According to the complaint, the incident happened on September 2. But the girl was threatened not to reveal about it. The parents came to know about only after she fell ill on Friday night,” a police officer said. The accused, A Marichamy has been booked under several counts including rape and was remanded. Police said that the 15-year-old girl and her mother were working in the furniture shop owned by Marichamy, a resident of Bharathiar Road in Jai Hindpuram in the city. On September 2, Marichamy had sent the girl’s mother away from the furniture shop to buy tea. “After the woman left, Marichamy had shown obscene videos from his mobile phone to the girl who was alone in the shop. When she resisted, he overpowered her and raped her,” police said.

The man had threatened with dire consequences if the girl revealed about the incident to anyone. Scared, the girl chose to conceal the incident from her parents, but soon she fell ill. On Friday night, she developed bleeding. It was then that she told about the incident to her parents. Even as she was narrating the harrowing experience, the girl fell unconscious. Her relatives immediately sought ambulance services and rushed her to the GRH.

They lodged a formal complaint with the police on Sunday and subsequently Marichamy was arrested. Police said that as soon as the parents of the victim learnt about the rape, five of Marichamy’s friends met the relatives of the girl and threatened not to lodge a police complaint. The five had also allegedly assaulted the relatives injuring one of them. Police said that the girl was subjected to medical tests. The girl, apparently is weak and is under intensive care, police said.

