THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kallambalam police on Monday arrested seven people in connection with the rape and torture of a 15-year-old Dalit girl after threatening to circulate her nude images. They were identified as Anoop Shah, 24, of Ayiroor, Shamnad, 21, of Edava, Saheel alias Kannan, 19, of Kallambalam, Shahnas alias Andru, 19, of Vadasserikonam, Salman, 19, of Chempazhanthy, Surat, 32, and Al- Ameen, 23, of Edava. Another person, Amir, is still absconding.
Attingal DySP Chandrasekharan Pillai said Shah, a friend of victim’s cousin brother, called her on her mobile phone on February 2 asking her to accompany him to her cousin who passed out after consuming excess alcohol.
“The girl, a Class X student in a government school, arrived at the Kallambalam junction. She was then taken to Navaikulam where she was sexually abused by the youth and another friend,” Mr Pillai said. Anoop and Amir took her pictures and threatened to circulate them on the internet.
They offered her to many of their friends for monetary gains for a month. She was raped indoor and outdoor and was tortured and inflicted burns in her private areas whenever she protested.
Last month, they took her in an autorickshaw to Paripally to offer to some new clients. When the girl resisted, she was slapped, and they fled when people intervened. The girl was then taken to Paripally police station from where the case was transferred to Kallambalam.
The father of the victim had died some years back, and her mother was mentally unstable. She was rehabilitated to a shelter home. Meanwhile, a relative of one of the accused was also arrested for threatening a police officer and the victim inside the court complex.
