Krishnagiri: A local DMK youth wing leader was arrested on Friday under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in connection with the death of a two and half years old girl child near Anchetty here in Dec last year.The Anchetty police identified the arrested person as Periyanayagam, 40, of Sesurajapuram. According to an investigation officer, Periyanayagam was having an affair with a 24-year-old woman, who was separated from her husband and living with her parents. “The young woman had a daughter aged two and half years in her marriage. She took the toddler to a private hospital at Anchetty on Dec 11, stating the child had seizures. Doctors declared the child brought dead,” the officer said. Based on a complaint lodged by the child’s father, the Anchetty police registered a case of suspicious death and initiated a probe. “A postmortem was performed, and the autopsy report that was out very recently showed significant internal injuries, prompting us to treat the case as a criminal matter,” the officer said. Investigators found that the girl’s mother was having an illicit relationship with Periyanayagam, who sexually assaulted the child while the mother was away. “The girl succumbed to the injuries sustained in the sexual assault,” the officer said. He said Periyanayagam was lodged in Dharmapuri sub-jail under judicial custody after producing him before the Krishnagiri court.
