KOCHI: More arrests have been made in the case pertaining to the gang rape of a girl, 17, in the city. Police said that besides the eight persons arrested in cases registered at Central and Palarivattam police stations, six others were held from Wayanad and Kollam districts on Thursday.
The girl, hailing from Ottappalam, who came to Kochi in search of a job, was drugged and abused by the accused. According to city police, 14 accused have so far been arrested in connection with the abuse. More arrests are pending and details of those apprehended will be released after recording their arrest, police said.
The gangrape came to light after the police collected the teenage girl’s statement after they traced her to Thiruvananthapuram. The police registered a case after she was found missing from her house and it was during counselling that she disclosed the details. A Thrissur resident is suspected to be the kingpin. He abused the girl first and facilitated her further misery.
Kochi city police said that the Thrissur native and his two accomplices, who also assaulted the girl were apprehended by Parippally police in Kollam in another case. Their arrest will be recorded by Kochi police. Ambalavayal police in Wayanad arrested three other persons: the owner of a homestay and his accomplices.
The ordeal occurred in August this year when the girl arrived in Kochi. A man named Manoj got acquainted with her and offered her a job. He then took her to a lodge and sexually assaulted her. Later, his friend K B Salam, who arrived there after being tipped off by Ajith Kumar, also abused her. Then their friends Joshi Thomas, a lodge owner, and Manoj Soman, the manager of the lodge, also abused the girl. She managed to escape from there and a lodge at Palarivattam run by another accused, Girija, who allegedly acted as a middleman and facilitated the girl’s further abuse.