KOTTAYAM: A teenage girl has claimed she was allegedly sexually abused by around 64 people over approximately four years in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. Police said five suspects have been arrested in this connection and a sixth is already in prison. The girl turned 18 two months ago.
According to Pathanamthitta child welfare committee chairman Rajeev N, the teenager first spoke at a school counselling session about the sexual abuse she had suffered. A police case was registered after the intervention of the child welfare committee who were contacted by the counsellors.
The girl, a sportsperson, was abused at various places in Pathanamthitta, including at sports camps. The majority of the accused are coaches, classmates, and local residents.
Cases, including under the Pocso Act, have been registered at various police stations in the district. The Pathanamthitta district police chief is overseeing the investigation.
The girl does not have a personal mobile phone and would use her father’s mobile phone. On this phone, she had saved the numbers of around 40 people who had abused her, police said.
Child welfare committee members, who were shocked by what she told them, got her to undergo counselling by a psychologist to ensure that the accusations were genuine. “Since we realised that it was an unusual case, we informed the SP and asked him to monitor the probe,” the child welfare committee chairman said.
