Useful information
Prime News delivers timely, accurate news and insights on global events, politics, business, and technology
New Delhi — Police in the southern Indian state of Kerala have arrested 49 of 64 men accused of sexually abusing an 18-year-old girl over the past five years. The girl, who has not been identified, reportedly told investigators that she was sexually abused and gang raped several times since she was 13 years old.
The men charged in the attacks include a childhood friend of the girl, along with neighbors and family friends, police told CBS News partner network. bbc news. There are at least five students from his university and former classmates from his school among the accused, according to an Indian media. The news minute.
Most of the defendants are teenagers or in their early 20s, according to The times of India.
“Forty-nine people have been detained,” Pathanamthitta district deputy superintendent of police Nandakumar S. told AFP news agency on Wednesday. “We have identified the remaining 14 and they will soon be arrested.”
Rupak De Chowdhuri/NurPhoto/Getty
The alleged abuse began five years ago when the girl’s neighbor allegedly abused her and took sexually explicit photographs and videos, which he then shared with others and used to blackmail the girl while continuing to abuse her.
Police have told Indian media that the girl was allegedly gang-raped at least three times in the past five years.
The alleged abuse came to light last month when a team of counselors working under a government program visited her home.
“He received counseling and opened up to a psychologist, telling him about the sexual abuse he had suffered since he was 13,” N. Rajeev, head of the National Child Welfare Committee, told the Indian Express.
The Kerala Police has tasked a team of 25 officers with the task of investigating the allegations.
At least 18 cases have been registered so far in connection with the girl’s alleged abuse under various Indian laws, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which aims to prevent crimes against people of the scheduled castes. and lower tribes in India’s centuries-old social hierarchy.
The victim of mass abuse in Kerala is a member of the Dalit community, which is the lowest caste in India. Dalits have They faced widespread discrimination and abuse for many years.
Criminal cases have also been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act as most of the alleged abuse took place when the girl was a minor, Deputy Superintendent Nandakumar told the BBC Hindi service.
The horrific scale of the alleged abuse has grabbed national headlines in a country where an average of nearly 90 rapes were reported each day in 2022, the most recent year for which national data is available. Many more are believed to go unreported.
