Watch: 17 men who raped girl for months in Chennai thrashed by lawyers in court

July 17 (AZINS) As many as 17 people who were arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl in Chennai, were brutally thrashed by lawyers in Mahila Court.

All accused were attacked by a group of lawyers at the Mahila Court premises when they were escorted out from the court hall after the proceedings by the police.

After the court remanded all the accused in the judicial custody till July 31, the accused were being escorted out what a group of advocates started attacking them in the staircase.

Later Mohanakrishnan, president of Madras High Court Advocates Association announced that no advocates would appear for the 17 accused in the child rape case. "If any advocates appeared for them, they will be expelled from the union," he said.

He demanded that the accused should not be given bail during the trail. "We want the trail to be conducted as soon as possible and all the accused are given exemplary punishment," he said.

In a video, lawyers can be seen beating and kicking the accused. Among those arrested are security guards, lift operator and plumber.

The arrests were made following a complaint by the victim's father that his 11-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by several men in the apartment complex.

The incident came to light when the victim, a class seven student, told her elder sister about the trauma she was going through. Her sister informed their parents who in turn filed a complaint with all women police at Ayanavaram.

A senior police officer said that the perpetrators drugged her allegedly before she was sexually assaulted in various places inside the apartment premises at various days for the past seven months. The officer said that they had videotaped the girl nude and threatened to release it if she told someone about it.

The official said the girl was first sexually assaulted by a lift operator and later several others joined in the assault. At least four of them have confessed to the assault, while two others said they had molested the girl, the official said.

The 18 men were in the age group of 23 to 66 years and they were engaged by two private companies – FOCUS, a security firm and UK Facility Services.

The victim’s father who runs an electronic shop and her mother is a homemaker. They did not find anything unusual until the girl opened up to her sister who is studying in Delhi and came home on leave on July 13.