Kerala teen alleges rape by 60 men including schoolmates over 5 years; 58 held
Twenty-nine cases have been filed across four police stations; a hunt is underway for two more accused
In an incident that has sent shockwaves across the country, an 18-year-old girl from Kerala’s Eluvamthitta has alleged of being raped and sexually abused by at least 60 people over five years.
Police after learning about the girl’s ordeal have arrested a total of 58 men and boys while the hunt is on for two more accused in the case, a CNN report quoted Kerala Police Deputy Inspector General Ajeetha Begum as saying.
Girl’s schoolmates, relatives among assaulters
Police said the incident came to light after the girl, the daughter of daily wage labourers, confided about the assaults to a counsellor who was visiting her college in Kerala.
The girl reportedly told the police that the cycle of abuse started when she was allegedly abused sexually by one of her neighbours in her village. The neighbour had allegedly filmed the abuse. Police are investigating if the video and images were used to blackmail the girl into being assaulted by other men and boys.
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According to the report, the assaulters include the girl’s schoolmates, relatives and neighbours.
So far, 29 cases have been registered across four police stations under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, according to another report.
Torturous cycle of abuse
One of the first people to be arrested was Subin who was allegedly the person who began the torturous cycle of abuse. He allegedly began abusing her when she was a 13-year-old. Subin allegedly took intimate photos and videos of her which he then used to threaten her to make her do sexual favours for him and his friends.
According to police reports, these men brought two more men to sexually abuse the teenage girl. Over the years, the girl’s images were circulated by several men to their contacts across the locality and beyond.
The men who were given her images and contact details began to contact her on WhatsApp and Instagram on her father’s phone late at night, long after he was asleep, the CNN report said.
Who were the assaulters?
The arrested men range from fisher folk to drivers to daily wage workers, some of whom are married.
Around five of the girl’s classmates from her former school are also among the accused.
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The girl also alleged that there were multiple men involved in few incidents and subsequently cases for gang rape have been filed. One of the accused is from Thiruvananthapuram which is over 100km away with two others who are abroad.
DIG Ajeetha Begum is heading the probe and has said that Red Corner Notices will be issued to the two accused who are abroad if it is needed.
Girl being counselled
The girl is currently being counselled in a Nirbhaya homeand will take time to reveal all the names of the accused, a report said. Within three to four days, she was able to give the list of the accused from the phone numbers she had saved on her father’s phone. The police were able to identify 40 people in this way.
The girl and her mother have relocated from their settlement and only her father and brother stay there. Her house has been shut since the day of her making the complaint, according to neighbours.
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A top police official said that she will have to recount her statement to a Magistrate under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Since it will take time for her to rejoin her classes in college, the police are collecting notes for her in her stead.
The police are also in contact with counsellors who will talk to her classmates and teachers to make her transition back to college as smooth as possible.