HELL ON EARTH
Indian girl, 11, raped by 17 men while drugged and held captive for six months as country’s sex abuse crisis deepens
Furious lawyers were seen on camera battering the suspects in court after they refused to represent them
THIS is the moment furious lawyers beat up a gang of 17 men accused of sedating and repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl over several weeks in an apartment complex.
The chaotic scenes were captured in court this week and show the suspects, including security guards, plumbers and electricians, get punched and kicked in a brutal rage.
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The angry lawyers in Chennai, south-east India, refused to represent the men in court and instead vented the country's disgust on them.
The clip, shared widely on social media, shows the solicitors shove some of the men and drag them down a flight of stairs.
They then repeatedly kick and yell at the alleged rapists in the busy court building as they cower on the floor.
It is the latest incident in a horrific spate of sex attacks against children in India which have outraged the nation.
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The country's sex abuse crisis has led to the introduction of the death sentence for the rape of girls under the age of 12.
A 99-year-old retired headteacher was arrested earlier this month in Chennai for allegedly sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl.
In the latest attack, the suspects, aged 23 to 66, are said to have spiked the girl's soft drinks and filmed each other carrying out the degrading assaults this month.
The gang allegedly used the vile footage to blackmail the girl, who has hearing impairments and lives with her parents.
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Police allege a 66-year lift operator was the first to attack the girl after she returned from school and was cycling around the complex.
He allegedly encouraged the other men, believed to be his friends.
The girl was allegedly attacked in various public places within the 300-apartment site, including the gym, terrace, basement and bathrooms.
The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, finally told her older sister about the alleged attacks and she alerted their parents.
News report of allegations 17 men raped an 11-year-old girl in Chennai, India
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Police became aware on Sunday and have since arrested the men during the large-scale investigation.
G Mohana Krishnan, president of Members of the Madras high court advocates' association (MHAA), said: "We have requested the legal fraternity to stay away from appearing for the accused and we will also appeal against the state legal aid services if they move the mandatory bail petition for the accused."
In July, five boys as young as nine gang-raped an eight-year-old girl after watching porn on a mobile phone in a separate alleged offence in India, which has been plagued by the sex abuse crisis for months.
And in May, a monster was caught on a CCTV camera as he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl, who was sitting beside her mum in a cinema in the country.
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