KOZHIKODE: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, held captive and sexually abused by two gangs in Ernakulam and Kannur for more than a month. The teenager’s harrowing experience came to light after the police rescued her from a building in Kolavallur, Kannur, where she was confined after being abducted a month ago. However, the culprits managed to flee just moments before the police reached the premises.
The girl’s ordeal began on May 15 when she was allegedly abducted by a youth from her home within the Chevayur police station limits in Kozhikode.
Detailing the sequence of events, investigating officials said a person from Perambra in Kozhikode, whom the girl had befriended on social media, called her on her phone that night.
Shortly after, the ‘friend’, accompanied by an accomplice, arrived in a car and abducted her from the road in front of her house around 10.30pm, the officials said. After a frantic search, her parents approached the police and lodged a complaint.
Chevayur police inspector T Mahesh said the 24-year-old friend and his 25-year-old accomplice took the girl to Ernakulam and forced her to stay at a local lodge. “After a two-day stay there, they sent the girl off on a bus to Kozhikode. However, she fell asleep, missed her stop, and ended up in Kannur bus station.
Stranded, she sought help from a man there. Taking advantage of her situation, the man, a 28-year-old Kannur native with a criminal record, offered to give her a ride home. However, he forcibly took her to a rented house instead and illegally detained her for more than a month,” the inspector said.
The girl had contacted her relatives when she boarded the bus from Ernakulam to Kozhikode. However, concerns mounted when she failed to reach Kozhikode. Based on inputs that she was spotted at Thrissur KSRTC stand, the police launched a search but in vain.
As per the girl’s statement to the police, she was kept in confinement and subjected to sexual assault during her captivity.
The Chevayur police said so far, three persons have been booked in two cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
“One case has been registered at Kolavallur station in Kannur, while the Chevayur police are investigating the case related to the girl’s detention in the Ernakulam lodge. The accused haven’t been arrested yet and a search is on,” said Mahesh. Police also suspect the involvement of more persons in the Kannur case.
Efforts on to nab accused, say police
The inspector said the police didn’t get substantial leads on the girl for weeks. “Our investigation had focused on the bus stands in Kozhikode, Thrissur and Ernakulam.
We got a lead regarding the girl’s location after the residents in Kolavallur approached the local police over suspicious activities in a building in their area,” said Mahesh. The police surrounded the ‘hideout’ and rescued the minor last Sunday. However, the gang fled moments before they arrived.
Of the two persons booked in the Ernakulam case, one had recently returned from abroad, where he has been working. Neither of them has a criminal record. The third accused, tied to the Kannur case, is a native of Chokli, Panoor, and is reportedly involved in robbery and attempt to murder cases. The police said they have intensified search to nab the suspects.
The girl was brought back to Kozhikode and produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for immediate care and rehabilitation on Monday.
Two Pocso cases
So far, three persons have been booked in two cases under the Pocso Act in connection with the abduction and sexual abuse of the girl. One case has been registered at Kolavallur station in Kannur, while the Chevayur police are probing the case related to the girl’s detention in a lodge in Ernakulam.