Opposition parties slam TVK govt over murder of 10-yr-old girl near Coimbatore

Chennai: Opposition parties, including DMK, AIADMK and PMK, came down hard on TVK govt on the abduction, alleged sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Sulur in Coimbatore district.

Leader of the opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin said the state had witnessed more than 30 major crimes within 12 days of TVK govt assuming office. He urged chief minister C Joseph Vijay to accord top priority to law and order to ensure such incidents did not recur. The incidents of sexual assaults, ganja smuggling, abductions and murders, attacks by rowdies and alleged excesses by ruling party functionaries had raised serious questions over the state’s law and order situation, he said.

Referring to the Coimbatore incident that triggered nationwide outrage, Udhayanidhi said the “brutal crime had sent shock waves across India” and led to overnight protests by residents in the city demanding justice for the victim. “The voice seeking justice is echoing from all sides. Coimbatore people are staging protests throughout the night condemning this cruel act,” he said. Demanding swift action against the accused, Udhayanidhi said the “real culprits” behind the murder should be given severe punishment at the earliest.

Expressing shock, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said it was painful to see TVK govt fail miserably to prevent such a horrific crime. “Instead of being a reels govt, it should be a real govt,” he wrote on X, while demanding stern action against the perpetrators. He said reports of the girl being sexually assaulted before being murdered have triggered widespread fear and anger among public. He emphasised that the “lack of immediate, decisive action exposes severe shortcomings in the state’s law and order machinery”.

Former AIADMK minister and Thondamuthur MLA S P Velumani, co-leading a rebel AIADMK faction, said on X, “I strongly urge govt to pay special attention to safety of women and children, and take appropriate measures to ensure that such incidents, which happened in the previous DMK regime, do not occur.”

While PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss demanded swift justice, AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran said the rising wave of crimes against women and children in the state has raised serious questions over the prevailing law and order situation, as well as the very foundation of societal humanity.