More and more tribal girls ditched by lovers kill themselves in south Kerala

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Thiruvananthapuram: Five girls ended their lives in the last two months alone in the hilly areas of the Thiruvananthapuram district after they were allegedly ditched by their lovers.

A probe revealed most of the dead girls were subjected to sexual exploitation by the lovers or even members of certain mafia groups.

The parents of a 17-year-old Adivasi girl said that their daughter was trapped by some youth by giving drugs.

Her mother had set high hopes on her and wanted her to become a police officer. But the girl committed suicide even before she could join an under-graduate programme.

The police found that the girl ended life after being deeply pained over being cheated by her lover, who hailed from outside the tribal colony. There are also reports she was exploited sexually and was given drugs by the lover.

This is not an isolated case. Several such suicides were reported from the tribal areas in the district recently. Most of the cases were reported from Peringamala and Vithura panchayats.

In seven cases, the accused were from outside the tribal colonies. Though the accused were arrested, no investigation was carried out further into the activities of their accomplices and their links with the drugs mafia.

Mobile phones used to bait

Most of the tribal girls were baited by non-tribal youths through sweet talks over mobile phones. The suicide of a college student in Vithura last Monday after she was ditched by her lover was the latest instance in this regard.

It was clear from the suicide letter that she resorted to the extreme step as she could not bear the betrayal. The lover left her for another girl after promising to marry her.

The girl was found very cheerful till morning. Later, she ended her life in the bedroom of the house.

The accused Akash Nath, hailing from Chittar, established contact with the girl by making calls to her mobile phone, which was made available to her for attending online classes. It was after going through great struggles amidst the poor conditions in the tribal colony that she managed to study upto degree level.

Lover tried to destroy evidence

After knowing about the suicide, the first thing the lover did was to reach her home and destroy evidence from her mobile phone. This had led to the suspicion that it was a murder case and not a mere suicide.

The police are also examining whether the girl was sexually exploited by the lover.

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