
PATHANAMTHITTA: The number of people arrested in connection with the sexual abuse of a minor girl in Pathanamthitta has gone up to 42 with 29 more cases registered in four police stations in the district, the police said on Monday.
According to district police chief V G Vinod Kumar, a total of 58 accused are involved in the case. One of the accused is reportedly abroad while another person is currently out of state. “Efforts are on to bring the accused to Kerala from abroad. The investigation team will also proceed with further procedures including issuance of look-out circulars,” a senior police official said.
A total of 16 people are yet to be arrested in connection with the case. Of the 42 arrests made so far, 26 were recorded at the Pathanamthitta police station, 14 at Elavumthitta, and the remaining two at Pandalam.
Till Sunday night, 28 people had been arrested. The newly arrested in the Elavumthitta cases are Amal, 18, Adarsh, 20, Sivakumar, 21, Umesh, 19, Sreeju, 18, Aji, 19, Ashwin, 21, and Sajin, 23.
Abhijit, 19, Joji Mathew, 25, Ambadi, 24, and Aravind, 20, were arrested on Monday in the cases registered at Pathanamthitta station. Akash, 19, and Akash, 22, are the ones arrested by the Pandalam police.
During the investigation, the police found that the victim, who belongs to the scheduled caste community, had been subjected to gang rape on at least five occasions, including incidents inside a car and at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital.
Investigations have revealed that several of the accused were introduced to the victim at Pathanamthitta’s private bus stand, from where she was taken to multiple locations and subjected to abuse.
It was revealed during the probe that the interference of Deepu, who the survivor had met on Instagram while studying in Plus II last year, led to two gang rape incidents. In one of the incidents, Deepu and his friends took the girl to a rubber plantation in Ranni Mandirampadi and raped her inside a car last year.
A detailed investigation with the scientific inspection of mobile phones is progressing, the district police chief said.
The case is being probed by a 25-member team supervised by Deputy Inspector General Ajitha Beegum.
Meanwhile, Child Rights Commission on Monday visited the survivor girl at a shelter home in Konni, where she is currently admitted.
Kodikunnil Suresh demands CBI inquiry
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC working president and CWC member Kodikunnil Suresh has demanded a CBI inquiry into the gang rape of a minor schoolgirl in Pathanamthitta. He also urged the police to ensure the protection of the victim’s family and called on the government to take responsibility for their safety.
“There may be attempts to influence the family or witnesses through intimidation. A fair and impartial inquiry is essential to ensure that the accused are brought to justice. We have doubts about whether an impartial inquiry is possible. Hence, after discussing this with the victim’s family, it has been decided that the inquiry should be handed over to a central agency,” he said.