9 Held for Abducting Woman
KOCHI: The Kochi City Police on Saturday arrested nine persons, including parents of a 26-year-old woman, for forcefully taking her from Shantinikethan, a rescue home at Vaduthala where she was lodged on the basis of a High Court order.
The arrested have been identified as Manoharan; his wife Sheela; Sujith; Dhanesh Kumar; Manjul; Rinesh; Swaraj; Vishnu; Sujith and Ambuthan, who include Mohanan’s relatives and friends. The group allegedly took the woman into a car forcefully, despite attempts by the rescue home staff to stop them, and left the place.
On being alerted, a police team from the Ernakulam Town police station followed the car and stopped it near the Varappuzha bridge. The group was planning to take the woman to the home of one of her relatives in Kozhikode. The woman has been lodged at Shantinikethan for nearly a month, following a directive by the High Court. She was produced before the court based on a habeas corpus petition filed by her lover.
Earlier, the parents used to visit the rescue home for attending the counselling sessions. Hence, the hostel authorities permitted them in.