In Kerala’s Malappuram area, a 17-year-old girl has reported that she was raped and abused by 38 men over the past several months. Police have registered a total of 32 cases against 44 men and most of these accused men have been arrested.
The incident was reported over the last 5 years in the Pandikkad region of Malappuram district in Kerala.
The girl and her mother lived in a little colony in Pandikkad area of Malappuram district. In 2015, missing cases were lodged by the mother in the local station, said the district police chief. The girl’s family alleged that she had gone with her friend and was tracked back. Two POCSO cases were registered then. A related case was filed again based on the family’s complaint in 2017.
All arrests and cases have been made under sections of POCSO.
In December 2020 the girl’s family had again lodged a complaint saying that hse had gone with her friend in a motorbike and is missing since the girl was a minor, the local police located her and she was produced before the magistrate for recording her statement.
In her statement, the girl had mentioned 15 incidents, including two sexual assaults.
The girl, afterwards she was entrusted to a rescue home and months later, another statement was recorded. This time the girl mentioned about 12 more molestation incidents and a rape case.
Presently, the 17-year-old rape survivor is living in a rescue home run by Child Welfare Committee.
44 men have been charged in connection with the cases of abuse while 20 have already been arrested by the local police.
A total of 32 cases, including three for rape and the rest under molestation charges, have been registered and 44 men have been booked of which 20 have been arrested. The remaining 24 are yet to be taken into custody.
According to the police, the girl said that her neighbours and other people in the locality have molested and sexually abused her.
Social activist P Geeta has sharply criticized the Child Welfare Committee for being ignorant of such cases. CWC has the responsibility to thoroughly look after POCSO cases but many times they do not take these cases seriously.
Also Read: Parents of road accident victims entitled to compensation for loss of dependency: Delhi High Court
“In this case, the CWC has sent the child back to her home without ensuring the safety of the girl. They repeatedly did that which made way for such incidents happen repeatedly," she said.
An inquiry against the care home to find out any lapse on its part is also undergoing, said a senior official of the social welfare ministry.