Pathanamthitta: Five people were arrested and 10 others taken into custody in connection with the repeated sexual assaults on a Dalit teenage girl in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district. The girl was allegedly sexually abused by around 62 people. Of the five persons arrested on Thursday, four are facing rape charges, while one is accused of kidnapping the victim in a car and sexually assaulting her.
The victim, an 18-year-old Dalit girl, is currently at the Pathanamthitta Women’s Police Station, where she was brought from the Mahila Mandiram to provide additional statements.
The case surfaced when the victim revealed her gory tale of how as a sportswoman she had been sexually exploited by friends, coaches, and senior sportsmen since she was 13 years old.
The issue came to the fore during a counselling session conducted by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Pathanamthitta after the victim's teachers informed the panel about behavioural changes in the teenager. Soon, the CWC handed over the case to the district police chief at Pathanamthitta.
In her preliminary statement, she revealed the names of 40 people whose mobile numbers she had saved on her father's mobile, the device which she was using.
Local police stations in Elavanthitta, Konni, and Pathanamthitta have filed five FIRs, with more expected to be registered in the coming days. The FIRs have been lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Five individuals, all under the age of 30, have been arrested in connection with the case, including the victim's boyfriend. One of the accused is already incarcerated for a previous offence involving the abuse of a minor.
Sensing the gravity of the crime, the District Police Chief has constituted a special team comprising top officers of the district. Further details regarding the case are yet to be revealed.
Over the years, Kerala has attracted huge media attention in similar cases, including the infamous Suryanelli, Vithura, and Kozhikode cases.
With IANS inputs