KOCHI: The mystery over the death of a 19-year-old girl at a hotel room in the city deepened with the city police revealing that the accused Gokul Kavungal had a criminal history. Upon arrest, the 25-year-old youth from Edavanakkad in Vypeen was found to be a repeat offender. A jobless youth, he is said to have spent his time chatting up with young girls on social media platforms. After getting acquainted, he would target them for sexual abuse. Last year, he was arrested under relevant sections of the POCSO Act for raping a minor girl at Njarakkal. Interestingly, he married the minor.
However, the marital life lasted only for about four months as the girl ended the relationship due to Gokul’s alcohol addiction, said the police. It was on August 12 that the incident occurred. Gokul lured the girl he met on Facebook to Kochi in the pretext of having arranged a job interview. “They booked a room in a hotel near Ernakulam South Railway Station in the morning. She began bleeding and was taken to a private hospital with the help of an employee. However, the hospital authorities declared she was brought dead. The police arrested Gokul, who had fled the scene following this incident, on the next day. Currently, he is under judicial custody,” said a police officer with Ernakulam Central police station.
The parents of the victim had alleged that justice was denied to them as the sections of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, had not been invoked. During interrogation, Gokul confessed that the girl suffered bleeding during sexual intercourse at the lodge. They were reluctant to seek help as they were meeting on the sly. According to the police, the delay in providing timely treatment caused the death. Until now, the police have not received any evidence of Gokul forcing the girl and he had confessed that they had a consensual relationship.
The accused had only a month of acquaintance with the girl, a native of Ezhupunna, in Alappuzha district. After meeting online, they further exchanged phone numbers and fell in love soon after. The girl had used a mobile phone bought for her siblings’ online classes. According to the parents, Gokul persuaded her to come to Kochi.
“The accused was arrested under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC. As per the preliminary investigation, the intention of the accused was only sexual intercourse with the girl. However, the exact reason behind the death can be ascertained only after receiving the postmortem report,” said S Vijay Shankar, Inspector, Ernakulam central Police.