Kerala teen sexual abuse case: 14 more arrested, 13 new FIRs filed

The Kerala Police on Sunday arrested 14 more persons and registered 13 new first information reports in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of an 18-year-old woman in Pathanamthitta district, The Indian Express reported.

The woman has alleged abuse by around 62 men over the past five years.

Sunday’s arrests brought the number of persons detained in the case to 28. Nine of the 13 new FIRs registered were filed at the Elavumthitta police station and four at the Pathanamthitta police station. Five FIRs had been registered earlier.

Those accused of abusing the woman are primarily her classmates, friends and neighbours. Some of them are minors, while others are aged between 20 and 40, representatives from the district Child Welfare Committee said.

The complainant had shared details of the alleged abuse with volunteers from the Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society, who met her during a routine field visit to her school. The woman is a district-level athlete.

The social workers informed the Child Welfare Committee about the case 15 days ago.

The Indian Express quoted unidentified police officers as saying that Sunday’s arrests were related to the FIRs filed on Saturday and that none of the persons who have been accused in the nine cases registered at Elavumthitta and Pathanamthitta had been arrested so far.

A 25-member police team will investigate the cases, The Indian Express quoted Pathanamthitta Superintendent of…

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