Coimbatore Sexual Assault Case | VHP Leader Moves Madras High Court Seeking SIT Probe Into Death Of 10-Yr-Old Girl

A plea has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old minor girl in Sulur, Coimbatore.

The plea has been filed by P Chockalingam, President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, North Tamil Nadu.

As per the prosecution, on May 21, 2026, the minor girl was kidnapped by her neighbour while she was out to buy groceries. When the child failed to return home, the family conducted localized searches and thereafter lodged a formal complaint. On May 22, the lifeless body of the minor was discovered. As per postmortem reports, the minor girl was subjected to aggravated sexual assault before her death and cause of death was asphyxiation due to manual strangulation.

In his plea, Chockalingam states that a court monitored investigation is necessary in the case to ensure that the investigation remains uninfluenced by external pressures, conflicting accounts, or media-driven narratives.

The petitioner also states that in a recent media briefing, senior police officials, including the Inspector General of Police, West Zone, laughing and smiling. It has been argued that such conduct in relation to an offence of extreme gravity has generated widespread public outrage and undermined public confidence in the seriousness and sensitivity expected from the investigating authorities.

The petitioner added that the continued circulation of such videos has a tendency to sensationalize and prejudice the investigation process, thereby necessitating judicial supervision to ensure a fair , restrained, and professionally conducted investigation.

Pointing to previous instances like Anna University Sexual Assault Case and the Anna Nagar sexual assault case where an SIT was constituted and the investigation was carried out, the petitioner argued that such directions were necessary in the present case also to ensure expeditious trial.

The petitioner also highlighted that several media outlets, while covering the case, were publishing information of the victim's family including their residential address in violation of the statutory prohibition against disclosure of the identity of child victims in sexual assault cases. He thus sought for directions to the media not to disseminate speculative, sensational, prejudicial, or unverified materials relating to the case.

Case Title: P Chockalingam v The Additional Chief Secretary to Government

Case No: WP 20733 of 2026