In the city of Chennai, India, seventeen men have been charged with gang rape of an 11 year-old girl.
According to the Police, the girl was raped repeatedly since the beginning of the year with the main perpetrator being a lift operator in her apartment block.
The lift operator is alleged to have drugged the girl and invited other men to assault her. The police say more arrests are likely to be made. The 17 men include security guards, electricians and plumbers.
On Tuesday a court in Chennai charged the men with rape of a minor and ordered them held in custody until 31St of July.
The case has sparked widespread revulsion and some of the accused were attacked by a group of lawyers during the court appearance, the Hindustan Times reported. Video shared on social media showed a man being dragged from a staircase and beaten up as police struggled to restore order.
Advocate association president Mohana Krishnan told journalists at the Madras High Court, that no lawyer was willing to appear on behalf of the accused.
According to the Hindustan Times, the men were arrested after the girl’s family made a complaint at an all-women police station in the northern suburb of Vepery.
A police official disclosed that the girl had identified all the accused. At least four of them have already confessed, the official added. The victim has been referred to a government hospital for medical examination.
The country ois currently experiencing renewed public outrage due to the increase in the number of violent sexual assaults.