The Kerala Police arrested BJP leader Padmarajan, accused of sexually abusing a schoolgirl in Kannur district of Kerala on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Kerala government had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the POCSO (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) case.

Kuniyil Padmarajan, a teacher of a UP school in Palathayi in Panoor, is accused of abusing a class 4 student of the school. He is also the president of BJP's Thrippangottoor panchayat committee. He has been absconding.

The SIT was formed on Wednesday, almost a month after the case was registered on March 17. The police move came after stiff protest from the Congress-led opposition which has been alleging that the government was trying to shield the accused by delaying the investigation.

The 11-member SIT is headed by Thalassery DySP K V Venugopal.

Padmarajan was arrested from a relative's house.

Oppn protest

Congress leaders had slammed the government for the police inaction in the case despite the sensitivity of the issue.

Senior Congress leader V M Sudheeran had written a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking the arrest of the accused.

Youth Congress president Shafi Paramabil and young MLA V T Balram had also slammed the government. Shafi had on Tuesday said that Youth Congress would launch a protest, adhering to lockdown restrictions, on Wednesday.

Balram said that the accused was getting protection from the police and authorities in a stronghold of the ruling CPM. He said it was proof for a nexus between the CPM and BJP.

The Indian Union of Muslim League had also marked its protest against the police inaction.

Shailaja slams police

State Minister for Health and Social Justice K K Shailaja had also slammed the police. The crime took place in her constituency.

"DySP Venugopal had promised me that proper action would be taken soon. Then I got busy with COVID-19 related works and was under the impression that the accused was nabbed. Later I was told that the accused was absconding. Then I contacted the state police chief and asked him to arrest the accused immediately. The DySP has now told me that the accused will be arrested within two days," she said on Tuesday.

She had said if the police cannot arrest the accused who committed such a brutal crime, it's a shame to the Kerala police.

According to the girl's statement to police, Padmarajan had abused her thrice at the school's toilet in January and February this year, after offering coaching for the lower secondary scholarship examination.