Mute girl raped by neighbour; police launches manhunt

In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old girl suffering from speech impairment was raped allegedly by a neighbour after tying her up at her home in Sarada Nagar in Uppala taluk in this northernmost district of Kerala.

Police, quoting her family's complaint, said one Suresh (30), a regular visitor at the victim's house, had molested the minor girl when she was alone on September 22.

Though an investigation was launched the same day, he gave police a slip and fled to neighbouring Karnataka, they said.

An intense manhunt was launched to nab the accused and police was trying to track him through his mobile location, a police officer said.
 

"We are tracking his cell phone calls. On the first day he was located at Madhugiri in Karnataka. Though a team of police had rushed to the place, he managed to escape from there," Manjeswar Station House Officer P Pramod told PTI.

He said the current tower location of the accused had been identified in Maharashtra and a search intensified there to nab him.

A case had been registered under IPC 377 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.