Mavelikkara: A 27-year-old woman was arrested by the police over the abduction of a minor girl whom she had befriended on social media after posing as male.
The arrested person, Sandhya, is a native of Aruvikkara in Thiruvananthapuram district.
The police stated that Sandhya got friendly with the minor posing as a male and later abducted her. The minor who belongs to Alappuzha district was taken away by the accused from her house.
Sandhya was subsequently arrested from Thrissur and has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The police revealed that two POCSO cases were pending against Sandhya in Kattakada police station in connection with the harassment of two 14-year-old girls in 2016.
The accused is married and has a child.
The rescued girl disclosed that till the time of Sandhya's arrest, she was not aware that the latter who was with her all these days was a woman.
Past crimes
While undergoing six months imprisonment in jail in connection with the POCSO case registered by Kattakada police in 2016, Sandhya came in contact with a woman who was convicted in a narcotics case. Later she lived with this woman for three years.
Earlier, a case of assault was also registered against Sandhya with the Mangalapuram police station in 2019.
The police said that they have received information that Sandhya had links with groups dealing in narcotic drugs.
Modus operandi
The modus operandi of Sandhya and her accomplices was to start “friend groups” on social media and encourage girls to share their problems. She befriended the Alappuzha girl using a fake social media ID under the name Chanthu.
The Alappuzha girl had gone missing nine days ago.
The police said that the money and gold ornaments belonging to the minor were taken away by Sandhya. She used the messenger app on social media to connect with her victims. She used laptops and Wifi connection to prowl the web.
The police traced her real name and phone number with the assistance of the Cyber Police Cell.
