PATHANAMTHITTA: In a shocking revelation, an 18-year-old Dalit girl, who is an athlete, has said she was sexually abused by more than 60 people over the past five years in Pathanamthitta. She revealed the ordeal to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) members, who in turn informed the police.
According to the police, the initial investigation indicated that there are more than 60 accused, as stated by the girl.
As many as 15 persons have been held in connection with the case so far.
Five persons were arrested on Friday after registering five FIRs in two police stations in the Pathanamthitta district, they added.
The arrested include - Subin, 24, S Sandeep, 30, V K Vineeth,30, K Anandu, 21, and Sreeni alias S Sudhi Sreeni, 24, all residents of Chenneerkara in Pathanamthitta. The girl identified 40 others who abused her from the photos on the mobile phones of the arrested persons.
Nine more people were taken into custody on Saturday.
According to the police, when the girl was 13, the son of her father’s friend named Subin, lured her by showing obscene visuals on his mobile phone. He also took the girl’s nude pictures on his phone.
When the girl was 16, Subin took her to a secluded place in their locality and assaulted her sexually. He also recorded videos of the act on his phone. This was followed by regular sexual abuse, the police said.
The probe revealed that the visuals were shared among Subin’s friends, who also abused her sexually. The girl, whose academic performance suffered following the repeated abuse, revealed the matter first before a women empowerment collective during a counselling session.
The police added that they received evidence indicating that the girl was exploited by individuals including her coaches, fellow athletes, and classmates.
‘More accused to be identified as investigation progresses’
Considering the seriousness of the case, the collective informed the CWC. Following this, the girl, along with her mother, narrated the entire incident to CWC members.
According to the police, the case, a rarest of rare among the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases due to the number of accused involved, will include SC/ST Act as the girl belongs to a scheduled caste community.
A case has also been registered at the Pathanamthitta police station in connection with the incident. Police said more accused are likely to be identified as the investigation progresses in different stations.
Among the accused, Sudhi is currently in jail in a POCSO case registered by the Pathanamthitta police earlier.