KOCHI: Christal Raj, 27, who abducted and sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl, the daughter of a couple from Bihar, was reportedly involved in a similar crime hardly a week ago. The police team received clues that the accused assaulted a minor girl who was sleeping inside her house at Perumbavoor on September 3. He stole a mobile phone from the house before assaulting the girl, like what happened in the Edayappuram case, police officers said.
The special investigation team headed by Ernakulam Rural SP Vivek Kumar was looking into whether the accused was involved in similar sexual assault cases and in the probe the police officers came to know about the Perumbavoor case. A detailed investigation into the Perumbavoor case is under way, said officers.
Meanwhile, the accused executed the abduction and assault in a well-planned manner, said police. Christal noticed the house of the eight-year-old girl at Chathanpuram, near Edayappuram, and arrived there with the objective of abducting the girl and committing the theft.
Christal, a hard-core criminal, is a habitual offender involved in 14 criminal cases registered in various stations, according to the police. Christal, a native of Chenkal in Thiruvananthapuram, is known by his nickname ‘Kokku’ in Aluva, for his expertise in stealing mobile phones. He used to steal mobile phones after putting his hands through windows and his lean, tall physique gave him the nickname, Kokku. He was arrested under charges of abduction, sexual assault and various provisions of the POCSO Act.
The eight-year-old daughter of a couple from Bihar was abducted while she was sleeping inside her house near Edayappuram in the early hours of Thursday. It is suspected that the accused unbolted the door by putting his hand through a window, and abducted the girl. He also stole a mobile phone kept there. However, within hours the police nabbed the accused from his hideout under the Marthanda Varma bridge.
He was produced before the Aluva Judicial First Class Magistrate Court which remanded him in judicial custody on Friday. Police said that they have submitted an application seeking seven days custody of the accused for a detailed interrogation and evidence gathering. The court will consider the plea on Monday.
The police said Christal, who had shifted his operations to Aluva one-and-a-half years ago, was involved in the theft of mobile phones and other electronic items in Aluva and Perumbavoor regions.
He used to roam around at night. He did not maintain any contact with his family members in Thiruvananthapuram. The police also found that it was Christal who committed thefts in the houses on New Lane Road, Thottakattukara, Aluva, on August 27.