An 18-year-old Dalit athlete was reportedly abused by 62 individuals over the course of the last five years in Kerala. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) filed a complaint after she disclosed the horrible events in a counselling session, prompting the Pathanamthitta police to start these proceedings. The matter came to light when a non-governmental organization (NGO) called Mahila Samakya paid a visit to her household as part of their routine work.
The NGO brought the issue to the attention of the Pathanamthitta district’s Child Welfare Committee after the girl described the ordeal she endured since 13 years of age. Thus far 44 people out of the 59 accused mentioned in the cases have been arrested by the Kerala police’s special investigation team (SIT) which is looking into the shocking matter. 30 FIRs have been filed, according to DIG S. Ajeetha Begum, who is in charge of the inquiry.
The cases have been filed in four police stations under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act.
“Two of the accused are absconding. They are abroad at present. We are considering issuing Look out Circulars for them. We are also planning to issue a Red Corner notice for them through Interpol. Besides them, 13 more have to be arrested. We are searching for their locations. They will be arrested soon. A foolproof and scientific investigation will be carried out by the SIT. We will not spare any of the accused. There will be no compromise. We will bring all of them before the law,” she informed.
The victim’s ordeal
Subin is accused of starting the abuse while the victim was only 13 years old, making him one of the first people to be arrested, reported The News Minute. Their houses were on different sides of a little hill, and they had been friends since they were young. She is perhaps six or seven years younger than him. He has been charged with sexually assaulting her, taking pictures and videos and then using them to pressure her into doing a sexual favour to a friend.
Law enforcement stated that this acquaintance brought in two more men who also exploited the teenager. Her photos and contact details were shared with different groups of men and young boys throughout the following years, and many of them contacted her through social media including Instagram and WhatsApp.
The individuals who have been detained consist of truck drivers, fishermen, and daily wage labourers. Some of them are also married. Among the perpetrators are at least five former classmates from her educational institutions. Two of the accused were underage at the time of the offence and four of the accused are minors. Furthermore, the victim reported that several incidents involved multiple perpetrators, leading to the filing of FIRs for gang rape.
One of the culprits hails from Thiruvananthapuram, located more than a hundred kilometres from Elavumthitta. DIG Begum has indicated that red corner notices will be issued for the other two accused currently residing abroad. Advocate N Rajeev, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Pathanamthitta stated, “Word may have spread from one man to another, to their circle of friends or colleagues. Quite a lot of the accused are from her neighbourhood and daily wage labourers, but there are others too. We were shocked to hear her name so many men.”
He added, “However, it is still not clear if Subin demanded money from her or received payments from the other men.” Following an awareness campaign at her campus organized by Snehitha, the victim disclosed her experience in December, which led to the intervention of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Snehitha is part of the Kudumbashree women’s empowerment program established by the state government. According to a neighbourhood source, the survivor initially approached a teacher at her school. The teacher then communicated the matter to a counsellor at Snehitha, resulting in the CWC being notified.
N Rajeev mentioned, “We asked the mother to accompany her, and the survivor spoke without persuasion. The mother was upset and reluctant at first to let her move into a centre for further counselling because she did not want the father to know.”
The accused reached out to the girl via her father’s phone, soliciting images of her and indicating the place where they were to meet. N Rajeev conveyed that the father owned a smartphone, but he was not particularly adept at utilizing its technological features. Moreover, he frequently consumed alcohol throughout the day and it contributed to his unawareness of his daughter accessing the device.
The girl’s parents are engaged in daily wage labor and she also has a brother. N Rajeev highlighted that the family thought their daughter’s commitment to sports was the reason for her extended time away from home. They were oblivious to the torment she suffered and assumed that her lengthy absences were due to competitive events. He also pointed out that when the Child Welfare Committee arranged for her counselling, her father did not initially suspect any problems, as he was familiar with her frequent departures for sporting events.
According to a ward member, she took part in Keralotsavam, a youth festival run by the Kerala government’s Youth Welfare Board. A neighbour also mentioned that she wanted to learn to drive and that the family had assigned Subin to be her instructor. The police reported that the individuals who reached out to the girl met her at various locations, including secluded spots within the General Hospital and on a bus at the private bus terminal in Pathanamthitta.
The bus stop is surrounded by shops and is commonly frequented by college and high school students. Security guard Shaji stated that he observed students lingering there as early as 7 am and again in the afternoon after their classes concluded. According to a bus stand official, the bus the girl identified might be the abandoned one at the back of a locked gas tank behind the bus stand. There are also quiet wooded areas surrounding the private bus stop where anyone can blend in without being spotted. The official stated that the current case is not the only instance that has occurred in these areas. He expressed that there had been previous cases of anti-social acts as well.
Furthermore, it has been reported that the girl experienced mistreatment within a General Hospital facility. The three-story edifice, referred to as the B and C block, is fifteen years old. This building, equipped with CCTV cameras, serves as the location for various medical procedures, including surgeries and outpatient care.
N Rajeev expressed, “We had told the police that the survivor, who is being counselled at the Nirbhaya Home, will take time to reveal all the names. In three to four days, she was able to give a list of 58 names, their ages, and details of what happened and where it happened. The police could identify about 40 of them from the phone numbers she had saved in her father’s phone. There were two gang rapes that she recounted, one that took place in a car and one in a bus in the private bus stand, both when she was a minor.”
She would testify before a magistrate in accordance with section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), according to a senior police official who added, “It will take some time for her to go back to her classes, we are arranging notes for her.” Moreover, the police are in contact with the counsellors who can liaise with her teachers and classmates to aid her in resuming her studies.
Who are accused
The Elavumthitta station has 16 of the 29 FIRs that have been filed next to Pathanamthitta with 11 and Malayalapuzha and Pandalam with one each. The accused have been identified as Amal (18), Adarsh (20), Shivakumar (21), Umesh (19), Sreeju (18), Aji (19), Ashwin (21), Sajin (23) Subin (24), CK Vineeth (30), K Ananthu (21), S Sandheep (30), S Sudhi also known as Sreeni (24), and Prajith Kumar (24) in Elavumthitta. P Deepu (22), Anandu Pradeep (24), Aravind (23), Vishnu (24), Binu Joseph (39), Abhilash Kumar (19), Abhijith (19), Joji Mathew (25), Ambadi (24), Aravind (20), Kannan (21), Akku Anand (20), a minor, Nandu (25), Shamnad (20), Afsal (21), Ashiq (20), Nidhin Prasad (21), Abhinav (18), Karthik (18), Sudheesh (Kannappan) (27), Nishad (Appu) (31), Achu Anand (21), Lijo (26), and Shinu George (23) in Pathanamthitta along with Akash (19) and Akash (22) in Pandalam.
Inquiry into the matter
The investigation disclosed that the girl met a number of the accused at a private bus station in Pathanamthitta after which she was driven to several locations where she endured the heinous violations. According to the investigation, a young man she met on Instagram took her to a rubber farm in Ranni last year when she was in the twelfth grade, where he and three other individuals assaulted her. Authorities pointed out that the probe found she was gang-raped at least five times, including in January 2024 at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital and inside a four-wheeler.
Other offenders include peers, rival athletes and sports coaches. More than 30 policemen, including women, make up the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is supervised by District Police Chief VG Vinod Kumar and headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police PS Nandakumar. Additional police would be added to the squad when the Sabarimala pilgrimage season ends, according to DIG Begum. Obtaining all relevant documentation, analyzing mobile devices, and gathering scientific evidence are the police’s top priorities in order to build a compelling case, per reports.
The National Commission for Women has demanded that everyone involved be arrested immediately and has asked for a thorough report on the measures taken in relation to the grave issue within three days. The panel stressed that in order to guarantee that justice is served, a fair and prompt investigation is required.
