14 arrested, 5 cases registered in connection with Kerala sexual abuse case

The girl, who is now 18 years old, has alleged in her complaint that she was sexually abused by 62 individuals since the age of 13

Kerala police have arrested 14 people and registered five cases in connection with the sexual abuse of an 18-year-old Dalit girl in the Pathanamthitta district.

The case was brought to light after the girl alleged that as many as 62 people had sexually abused her over the last five years. The Ilavumthitta Police, which had initially registered two cases, arrested five individuals on Friday.

On January 11, the Pathanamthitta police registered three additional cases and immediately took nine of the 14 accused into custody.

The arrested individuals include Subin (24), VK Vineeth (30), K Anandu (21), S Sandeep (30), and Sreeni also known as S Sudhi (24), are the accused in a case registered at the Ilavumthitta station. Achu Anand (21) is the accused in another Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case.

The fifth accused in the first case, Sudhi, is currently in jail in connection with another POCSO case previously filed by the Pathanamthitta police.

The investigation into this case, which has been filed under sections of the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes Act, is being conducted by Pathanamthitta Deputy Superintendent of Police PS Nandakumar.

The second case is being investigated by Police Inspector TK Vinod Krishnan.

It is alleged that when the teen was 13 years old, Subin, one of the accused had sent obscene messages and pictures to her via his mobile phone. He is also accused of procuring obscene pictures and videos of the child, according to the statement issued by Pathanamthitta Police.

Furthermore, allegedly when the girl was 16 years old, the accused took her on a bike to Achankottumali near her house and raped her in a rubber plantation in an uninhabited area. It was recorded on his phone.

Later, during the investigation, it was revealed that Subin showed it to other accused who were his friends. The statement also states that they took her to Achankottumali in a group and gang-raped her, added the statement of Pathanamthitta Police.

Three cases were registered in connection with the incident at Pathanamthitta station. Shamnad (20) was arrested in the first case.

In the second case, six accused were arrested, including a 17-year-old. The arrested accused are Afzal (21), his brother Ashiq (20), Nidin Prasad (21), Abhinav (18), and Karthik (18).

Afzal is also accused in two cases of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, registered at the Pathanamthitta police station. He is currently out on bail in these cases. Ashiq, a co-accused in one of Afzal's cases, is also out on bail.

In another case, Sudheesh (27), also known as Kannappan and Appu (31) was arrested. Sudheesh is the third accused in a 2022 criminal case at the Pathanamthitta police station, while Appu is involved in two theft cases from 2014, registered at the Pathanamthitta and Konni police stations.

After conducting medical examinations, the police are questioning the accused in detail. The police have expanded the investigation into the incident. The investigation into the incident has been expanded, and more cases may be filed based on the child's testimony.