India, May 25 -- Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday directed police officials to promptly register cases involving sexual offences, speed up investigations and ensure stringent punishment for those accused of heinous crimes against women and children.

The directions were issued during a high-level review meeting on law and order held at the Secretariat in Chennai, convened in the wake of the alleged sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore's Sulur area that has triggered widespread outrage across the state.

According to an official release, Vijay stressed that cases related to sexual crimes must be handled swiftly and prosecuted effectively so that severe punishment awarded to the accused acts as a d...