KASARAGOD: A man arrested for voyeurism jumped into the sea while being taken to the beach by the police to collect evidence on Wednesday. His hands were cuffed. His body is yet to be found. Kasaragod town police said Mahesh, 35, of Kudlu in Madhur panchayat, was accused of taking a video of a 12-year-old girl bathing and voyeurism.
He was also booked under section 11 (iv) read with section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012. These charges attract a jail term of up to three years and fine, said the police.
Mahesh was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday based on the complaint of the girl’s family. When the police sought his mobile phone, he told them that he had lost it near the harbour on Kasaba beach while playing cards on Tuesday. When two of his friends corroborated the statement, he was taken to the new harbour to get the mobile.
“But as soon as he reached the harbour, he pushed an officer and jumped off the harbour platform to the sea,” an officer said. A police officer accompanying him jumped along to rescue Mahesh, but Mahesh was not to be found. Residents pulled out the officer by throwing in a rope.The police said Mahesh was handcuffed and the chances of finding him alive was remote.This is the second person accused of child sexual abuse to end life in Kasaragod this week.
On July 19, Shiju Damodharan, 40, ended his life at Poodankkal Taluk Hospital where he was lodged for Covid-19 test. He ended his life when prison officials arrived to take him to jail after he tested negative for Covid. He was arrested on July 14 for allegedly trying to sexually assault a 16-year-old boy. Shiju was accused of sexually assaulting a tribal girl last year.