MALAPPURAM: The efforts of Childline, police and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) have brought a mother and her paramour to justice in a Pocso case in Malappuaram. The case pertains to the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl by a 33-year-old man with the consent of her 30-year-old mother. Authorities said the culprits also physically assaulted the girl so that she would not reveal her ordeal to others.
Childline officials rescued the girl from her house in Vallikkappatta on October 16. The girl’s mother, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, was arrested by Malappuram Vanitha Police when she approached the CWC to take the girl back on October 30.
The man, mother’s paramour from Palakkad, surrendered before the Pocso Court in Manjeri last Friday. He had been absconding since the Childline rescued the girl from the house, the police said. He is currently under judicial custody.
Police said the girl’s ordeal started since the man and her mother started living together in Malappuram. They had become friends through a WhatsApp group in 2019. The owners of the rented house, where the three stayed, thought the duo were married couple.
The Childline rescued the girl based on the information given by the child’s grandparents. “They told us about their suspicion that child was facing abuse in the house. We rescued the girl with the help of police. Only after three days of counselling did she reveal the details of abuse. She revealed the man abused the girl with the consent of her mother,” said Childline Malappuram Coordinator Anwar Karakkadan.
He said Childline officials faced several difficulties while rescuing the girl. “They had two pet dogs. They used ferocious canines to scare people away from house premises. They even prevented the girl from mingling with other children in the area. When we tried to visit the house, the woman threatened to register a police case against Childline members,” he said. Malappuram Vanitha police station sub-inspector Raziya Bengalath said they would submit the chargesheet before the Manjeri Pocso court soon.
Vulnerability mapping in the offing
In the wake of increasing number of Pocso cases in the district, Childline and CWC are also planning to initiate vulnerability mapping to identify the children vulnerable to sexual abuse in the district.