CHENNAI: Tightening the screws on a gang that allegedly sexually harassed and blackmailed a 19-year-old woman in Coimbatore district, police on Tuesday, 12 March, booked four accused under the Goondas Act even as the Tamil Nadu government decided to handover the case to the CBI.

The AIADMK subsequently expelled the functionary who had been arrested in the attack case.

In an apparent move to take the wind out of DMK's sails after the party targeted the AIADMK asking if it was protecting the accused, the state government decided to order a CBI probe into the case, hours after it was shifted to the Crime Branch CID from local police.

The harassment drew widespread condemnation after a leaked video of the survivor, in which she could be heard screaming and resisting her assailants, surfaced.

The four men had on 12 February allegedly tried to strip the woman inside a car near Pollachi, over 500 km from here, and had shot a video of the act and blackmailed her using the visuals.

A top state police official told PTI that the government has decided to transfer the case to the CBI and the administrative process of sending a formal request to the Centre was on.

Coimbatore District Collector Rajamani ordered detention of the four accused in the harassment case under the Goondas Act following recommendations by Superintendent of Police R Pandiarajan.

The four -- Thirunavakkarasu, Sathish, Sabariraj and Vasanthkumar- already under judicial custody had been booked under various sections of the IPC and Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

They will now face the Goondas Act as well which authorises detention upto a year. Seeking to up the ante on the issue, the DMK led a demonstration at Pollachi.

Led by its Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, the outfit's cadres, including women, demanded tough action in the case. Some women raised slogans like "Render justice," and "Where is our security?"

Addressing the cadres, Kanimozhi said the case and violence against the victim has brought shame and demanded action. She alleged the same network of criminals who had harassed the woman were involved in molesting over 250 women in the past seven years.

Kanimozhi lauded the victim's courage in freeing herself from the gang and later lodging a complaint. Actor-politician Kamal Haasan met with Director General of Police T K Rajendran in Chennai and sought his intervention to ensure justice for the victim.

Haasan's party, Makkal Needhi Maiam, also took out a procession in Pollachi Tuesday demanding justice and tough action against the perpetrators.

According to police, the woman who managed to free herself lodged a complaint on 24 February.

Four men, including the functionary, were arrested separately for the assault on the woman's brother, police said.