Kochi: In a despicable incident, a minor girl who ran away from home was drugged and was raped at several districts of Kerala.
The sexual abuse was exposed after Kerala Police officers in Kochi arrested eight persons, including a woman.
There are a total of 21 accused in the cases registered in connection with the assault of the 17-year-old girl.
While 14 are charged with sexual abuse, the others are facing charges of coercion.
The Ernakulam Central Police Station has registered four cases against fove of the accused, while Palarivattom station has registered four case against four of those aarrested.
The first case was registered at Palappuram police station at Ottapalam in Palakkad district over a missing person complaint.
Subsequent investigation revealed shocking details of the gang rape of the girl at several districts in the state.
The police prepared 14 first information reports (FIRs), which were handed over to the police stations in the respective districts where the abuse took place.
How the victim was trapped
After leaving her house at Palappuram in Ottapalam, the girl reached the KSRTC bus stand in Ernakulam, where the first accused Donald Wilson befriended her.
Donald took her to JJ Residency, a hotel at Vivekananda Road, where he drugged and raped her.
He also invited hotel owner Joshy Thomas and Manager Ajith Kumar to the room, where they also allegdly raped the youngster.
Sometime later, the victim returned to the Ernakulam KSRTC bus stand.
There, Manoj Soman, a native of Pandalam, approached the victim and offered her a job.
The victim accompanied Manoj to a lodge at Chittoor Road, where he raped her. K B Salam, the lodge owner, also molested her.
The victim was later handed over to Girija of Udayamperoor, a woman having links with sex rackets.
Girija subsequently took her to various places in Kerala and the victim was abused several times.
The serial rapes took place from June 21 to August 4 this year, said the police.
According to officers, the victim was sexually exploited at Ernakulam, Kollam, Thrissur and Wayanad districts after drugging her with narcotics, including psychotropic substances.
The police had found the victim from near Lulu Mall in Kochi and she was shifted to Nirbhaya Home by the Child Welfare Committee.
After a month’s stay at Nirbhaya Home, the victim revealed her torture to the authorities there.
The police soon registered a case and the entire affair was exposed.
Arrested persons
The following people are now under arrest: Hotel owner Joshy Thomas (40) of Chakkamadom, Mattancherry; lodge owner K B Salam (49) of Karippayil House, Choornikkara in Aluva; hotel manager Ajith Kumar (24) of Kakkassery House, Krishnapuram, Thrissur; Manoj Soman (34) of Olakkavil, Koorambala at Pandalam in Pathanamthitta; Poonthura Chirayil Girija (52) of Makkalikadavu, Udayamperoor; Kanjirakkattil Achu (26) of Puthencruz; Nikhil Antony (37) of Ponnurunni, Vyttila and Bijin Mathew (22) of Kanakkary, Kottayam.
The first accused Donald Wilson, who was the person who initially lured the victim, is currently in remand after being arrested by the Parippally police in Kollam district in another case of similar nature.
“We will soon take him into custody,” said S Vijayasankar, Inspector at Ernakulam Central Police Station.
