Chennai, Jul 13 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu police have constituted a special team headed by Dindigul Superintendent of Police, Ravali Priya, to investigate the alleged gang rape of a 40-year-old woman at Palani temple premises in Kerala on June 19.

The woman from Tamil Nadu and her husband are now staying at Thalassery in the Kannur district of Kerala and were on a pilgrimage to the famous hill shrine of Palani in Tamil Nadu when the incident happened. Lord Murugan is the presiding deity at the temple.

Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police (DGP), C. Sylendra Babu constituted a special team after he received a letter from his counterpart in Kerala, DGP, Anil Kant after the woman and her husband lodged a complaint with the Thalassery police.

According to the FIR, when the husband had gone to the nearby restaurant to buy food for the evening, a three-member gang forcefully took her to the nearby lodge and sexually abused her. Her husband who rushed to her rescue was beaten up by the lodge owner and his goons.

The woman's husband in his complaint said that they had approached the Palani police, but they turned them down and again when he approached the police after the woman was released, the officers threatened the family.

The family was traumatized by the incident and after reaching Thalassery, they did not inform about the incident to anyone but as the woman's health deteriorated, she was taken to a hospital. The hospital authorities informed the police and a formal complaint was registered after the family sent an e-mail to Kerala DGP, Anil Kant.

Thalassery Dy SP, Moosa Vallikadan told IANS, "The investigation is on and I have taken the statement of the woman at Government Medical College, Kannur where she is convalescing. However, according to medical reports at the Medical College, there are no injuries in her private parts as alleged and it might have healed as the incident took place on June 19, almost three weeks ago."

Dindigul Superintendent of Police and the head of the Special investigation team, Ravali Priya was not available for comment.