Chennai police arrests man for allegedly raping his niece and filming it

Chennai police arrested a 36-year-old correspondent of a private school who allegedly raped his 15-year-old niece and blackmailed her with a filmed video, reported The Times of India. The Class 10 girl had immolated herself on Wednesday. The accused in the case, Saravanan, had allegedly raped the girl when she visited their residence in September 2016. She was alone with him, when he offered her a soft drink spiked with sedatives. The girl fell unconscious and he raped her and also filmed the act on his mobile phone. Since then, Saravanan had been showing the girl the video and blackmailing her. A police officer told TOI that he used to keep harassing her and asked her to come home. The officer added that she had attempted suicide in February also. The girl had then told the truth to her parents. The New Indian Express reported that the family, despite being aware of the incident, chose to keep quiet for fear of their family reputation getting damaged.  After her death, parents found a note in which she held Sarvanan responsible and wanted him to be punished. The man has been absconding since the death of the girl.    On Wednesday, she came home from school and saw that her parents were not at home. So she locked herself and set herself on fire. The neighbours heard the screams of the girl and broke the back door and entered the house. They rushed her to Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital where she was declared brought dead.