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Kerala athlete sexual abuse: SIT files 11 more FIRs, 42 held so far
The SIT also revealed that the woman was gang-raped multiple times in more than one location within Pathanamthitta district
The special investigation team (SIT) probe into the alleged sexual abuse of an 18-year-old Dalit athlete in Kerala expanded on Monday with FIRs being recorded in two more police stations and the arrests of 14 more accused in the case, an officer said.
The survivor, a district-level athlete, has told the police that she was blackmailed and sexually abused by at least 62 people over the last five years.
A male friend began the chain of sexual assault when she was 13 and allegedly recorded explicit photos and videos with which he and his accomplices blackmailed her over the years, she claimed.
“Eleven additional FIRs were filed on Monday, taking the total number of FIRs in the case to 29. The number of arrests in various cases also rose to 42. Till Sunday, the FIRs were limited to the Pathanamthitta and Elavumthitta stations. We have now registered new cases at Pandalam and Malayalapuzha stations with incidents of assault being recorded in those station limits. The investigation is going on and more arrests will be recorded based on the woman’s testimony,” an officer, who is part of the SIT, said.
As per the police records, 26 people have been arrested in 11 cases in Pathanamthitta PS, 14 people in 16 cases in Elavumthitta PS, two people in one case in Pandalam PS and zero arrests so far in one case in Malayalapuzha PS.
The SIT also revealed that the woman was gang-raped multiple times in more than one location within Pathanamthitta district.
In February 2024, she was gang-raped in a car near a rubber plantation in Ranni. She had become acquainted with the main accused in that case through Instagram, officers said.
In another case, the survivor told the police that she was gang-raped at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital in January 2024.
An officer told HT that many of the accused in various cases met the survivor inside and near the premises of the Pathanamthitta private bus stand. She told the police that she was gang-raped inside a car near an abandoned shop within the town limits.
Those arrested on Monday in various FIRs include Amal (18), Adarsh (20), Sivakumar (21), Umesh (19), Sreeju (18), Aji (19), Ashwin (21) and Sajin (23).
An officer, part of the probe team, said, “We are in the process of collecting scientific evidence in the cases. Clues from the mobile phone used by the survivor to interact with the accused are also being collected as we move forward. Some of the accused are believed to be outside the district. We are on the lookout for them.”
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A senior official of the child welfare committee in Pathanamthitta told HT, “The survivor continues to remain at the shelter home under the CWC. She has made detailed statements to the police on the assault she endured over the years. She is fine mentally right now. The services of psychologists will continue to be offered to her.”
He added that the mother of the survivor is also likely to be shifted to a shelter home after the family received a few threats from the families of the accused. “The mother is feeling a bit vulnerable right now. So we have decided to bring her into the shelter home,” he said.
