In a recent incident of gangrape of a minor in Kerala’s Kannur, the police have taken 13 people into custody so far. According to reports, one of them is a local DYFI leader who was earlier seen participating in a rally demanding justice for the victim. DYFI is the youth wing of the ruling CPI-M in the state.
As per reports, a 16-year-old girl had alleged that she was befriended by a person using a fake name and was asked to come to a place in Parassinikkadavu. From there she was allegedly abducted by four men and taken to a lodge where she was gang-raped by several men.
In her complaint to the police, the victim had revealed that she had been raped by 20 different men, including her own father. In the recent incident, the main accused, a person identified as Mridul, reportedly abducted her to a lodge and even shot a video of her abuse. The case was reported to police when Mridul showed the video to the victim’s brother and demanded money.
During counselling, the teenage victim revealed that she had been sexually abused by her own father since she was 13.
On Tuesday, the local DYFI unit reportedly took out a protest march demanding justice for the victim. However, after the police started making arrests, it was revealed that a local DYFI leader, named Nikhil Mohanan (Nikhil Thaliyil) is one of the accused. A report by Asianet News had revealed that Nikhil was marching in a red jersey demanding justice for the victim.
The News Minute reported that the local district secretary of DYFI has confirmed Nikhil’s association with them. He has reportedly added that Nikhil has a drinking problem and hence he was not given any important positions.
The police have registered six cases and seven accused persons are said to be still absconding. Nikhil was arrested yesterday. The names of some of the other accused are Sandeep, Shamsuddin, Shabbir, Ayub, Pavithran, Achit Valsaraj and Mridul. The manager and receptionist of the lodge have also been arrested for facilitating the crime.
The police have revealed that the girl was blackmailed and subsequently raped several times by the accused. Charges under POCSO Act have been registered against all the accused.
