Kannur: Payyannur Police have arrested a civil contractor in connection with the sexual assault of a 16-year-old schoolboy after meeting him on Grindr, a social networking and dating app for the LGBTQ community. The arrested person has been identified as Gireesh of Korom village near Payyannur.

With this, 10 of the 16 accused have been arrested. The accused include an Education official, a Railway Protection Force officer, a Jamaat-e-Islami activist, a Youth League leader, and small business owners.

The schoolboy was sexually assaulted over a period of two years in four districts - Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Ernakulam, said Kasaragod District Police Chief B V Vijaya Bharat Reddy. A statement from his office said there were 16 cases and 16 accused in all; 10 cases were registered in Kasaragod's Chandera Station, and the remaining six cases were registered at Payyannur Police Station, Kasaba Police Station in Kozhikode city limits, and Elamakkara Station in Kochi city limits.

Chandera Police said they have arrested nine of the 10 accused wanted at their station. Sirajuddin Vadakumpad (46), the Youth League General Secretary of Trikaripur Panchayat, who has gone into hiding, is likely to surrender today, said officers privy to the case.

A Payyannur sub-inspector said two cases were registered in Payyannur. "We have arrested Girish. He is a small-time civil contractor from Korom. The name of the second accused will be revealed once he is arrested," said the officer.

Two cases were registered at Kasaba Police Station within the Kozhikode City limits. "There are two accused in the two POCSO cases. They are yet to be arrested," said an officer at the station.

Elamakkara Police, however, said they have neither received any intimation about the Grindr trap case nor registered a case.

Those arrested in the case are Sainudeen V K(52), Assistant Education Officer of Bekal sub-district; Chitraraj Eravil(48) of Pilicode, who is an RPF officer and a state-level football coach; Kunhahammed(55), a native of Valvakad in Trikaripur and activist of Jamaat-e-Islami, and brother of a firebrand CPM leader in Kasaragod; Sukesh(30) of Vellachal in Pilicode panchayat; Shijith(36) of Cheemeni panchayat; Rayees(30) of Vadake Kovval in Trikaripur; Ramzan(64) of Padannakkad in Kanhangad town; Narayanan Chambrakanam(60) of Cheemeni; and light & sound owner T Mohammed Afsal(23) of Chandera.

Police said they have evidence that Afsal introduced the boy to Grindr in 2023. They said Afsal was also the go-between for the boy and the other accused.

Though Grindr is marketed as a networking app for the LGBTQ community, it is mainly used by gay and bi people for dating and hookups. The boy created an account on Grindr claiming to be above 18 years old. Grindr has now suspended his account after coming to know he is a minor, said Reddy.

The crime came to light when the boy’s mother noticed unusual interactions on his phone and strangers visiting him. She approached the police, who then alerted Childline. During counselling, the boy disclosed the abuse he had been subjected to over the past two years. The accused used to give the boy money, too, police found.

Soon after the arrest, the Directorate of General Education suspended Bekal Assistant Education Officer Sainudeen V K. All those arrested on Tuesday were remanded in judicial custody.

The accused were booked for penetrative sexual assault, aggravated penetrative sexual assault, repeated sexual assault, and enticing a child for pornographic purposes under Section 377 of the IPC and Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 (vi) under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.