17 men have appeared in court in the Indian city of Chennai charged with repeatedly raping a 12-year girl over the course of seven months.
The men ranging from age 23 to 66 worked at the apartment block with the girl lives. According to the police, the alleged rapists sedated the 12 years old girl with drugs and then took her to vacant apartments in the block to assault her.
On Saturday the girl told her sister, who was visiting from Delhi, prompting the family to file a complaint.
Police arrested the men on Monday on charges of rape, attempted murder and criminal intimidation.
Television footage showed chaotic scenes in the court building as lawyers allegedly attacked the suspects on the staircase of the city’s high court as they were brought in.
The Hindustan Times reported that the Madras high court advocates association announced no lawyer would appear for the suspects.
“We have requested the legal fraternity to stay away from appearing for the accused and we will also appeal against the state legal aid services if they move the mandatory bail petition for the accused,” MHAA president, G Mohana Krishnan, told the paper.
On average more than a hundred cases of women being raped were reported every day in India in 2016, according to the most recent figures made available by the national crime records bureau. Around six of those were girls below the age of 12.
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