They also identified that the videos were shot at Thirunavukkarasu’s farmhouse in Chinnappapalayam near Pollachi.
As the scope of the case expanded, it was taken over by the Crime Branch-CID. However, after widespread outrage regarding the handling of the case, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Nine men were arraigned as accused in the case: N Sabarirajan alias Rishwanth, K Thirunavukkarasu, M Sathish, T Vasanthakumar, R Mani alias Manivannan, P Babu, T Haronimus Paul, K Arulanantham, and M Arunkumar.
The investigation revealed that the gang had a pattern: one of the men, usually Riswanth, would lure women to secluded locations, where they were either coerced or assaulted while the acts were secretly recorded. If the women consented to sex, the men would still film the act without their knowledge and threaten to leak the footage unless the victims complied with further demands. In some videos, accomplices would barge in pretending to “rescue” the victim while the hidden camera continued rolling.
The case took a political turn when media reports and opposition figures alleged the involvement of high-ranking political leaders, including the sons of Tamil Nadu Deputy Speaker Pollachi Jayaraman. However, Jayaraman was supported by a survivor and her family, who said that Jayaraman had been supportive from the outset and had helped them navigate the legal process.
Arulanantham, who was the AIADMK Pollachi town students’ wing secretary, was expelled from the party a day after his arrest.
While the police suspect that the accused sexually assaulted and exploited several women, only eight of them testified in court.
Meanwhile, lapses by law enforcement, including Pollachi SP Pandiarajan publicly revealing the survivor’s identity, drew sharp criticism from civil society and political leaders. Videos of the victims were also circulated on WhatsApp.
