Karukaputhur, Palakkad: The police have filed a case over a complaint that a minor girl was drugged and sexually assaulted for about two-and-a-half years at Karukaputhur near Pattambi in Palakkad district.
The case was filed under the POCSO Act after the girl's mother gave complaints to the Chief Minister, Director General of Police and the State Women’s Commission.
Two people, natives of Chalissery, have been reportedly arrested by the police, according to sources. Naufal, 45, from Karukaputhur and Abhilash, 26, from Mezhathur are the arrested.
The police probe is centring around five men. More are suspected to be involved in the assault, as per preliminary conclusion.
According to the police, the main accused is a 54-year-old man.
Blackmailed too
The police said that the girl was exploited, taking advantage of the family's poverty. The girl, who is now living with her mother, was assaulted from 2019, as per the complaint.
The woman in her complaint said that her daughter had fallen prey to a big gang. She knew four of them. Some of them even threatened to kill her and the daughter if they complained to the police. They were also threatened that the nude images would be circulated, as per the complaint.
The early abuse
The girl was first abused by her neighbour two-and-a-half years ago. The woman was asked to move from the place she had been staying for over 20 years by the owner. While they were shifting to another house, the neighbour offered to help and that was the beginning of the exploitation.
How the trap was laid
The girl's father has been estranged from the family, which is financially weak. The middle-aged accused, who turned up to help the woman-daughter duo, is suspected to be a friend of the father. The father is living separately at another place with his second wife.
Shoranur Deputy Superintendent of Police V Suresh is heading the probe. The cops are also probing if more girls had fallen prey to the gang.
