KOCHI: The CBI Court here will announce the verdict in the sensational Nedumbassery human trafficking case on February 24. The case pertains to the illegal trafficking of women from Kerala to brothels in West Asia. The trial proceedings were completed at the CBI Court.
The accused who faced in-camera trial are Suresh K V, Lissy Sojan, Sethu Lal, Anil Kumar, Bindhu, Santha, Maneesh A P, Sudharman, Varghese Raphael, Kabeer P K, Siraj, P A Rafeeq, S Mustafa and Thahir. As part of the trial, a total of 73 witnesses were examined by the court. There were seven defence witnesses. Over 50 material objects and documents were examined by the court. Later the court completed procedure under 313 CrPC and conducted the final hearing in the case.
The incident came to light in 2013 when a woman hailing from Kazhakootam arrived in Mumbai after escaping from the clutches of sex racketeers in Sharjah. Authorities in Mumbai handed over the victim to the police at Nedumbassery which initiated a probe. The woman was taken abroad using fake passport and promising job of a housemaid. Later it was found that several women from Kerala and other states were taken abroad and lodged in brothels where they were sexually exploited. The brothels were allegedly run by Suresh K V. It was Lissy Sojan who lured women after promising job in West Asian countries.
The case which was investigated by the Crime Branch first, was later handed over to the CBI. Five cases were registered in the human trafficking incident in which some police officers were also involved. The CBI has filed chargesheets in all the cases. The chargesheets state an organised group in Kerala was involved in the sex racket with the active support of airport officers.