Pathanamthitta athlete rape: Arrests rise to 20, including man set to be engaged
Pathanamthitta: Kerala Police have arrested three more suspects in the Pathanamthitta teen athlete rape case. The arrests were made late at night in Pampa. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has reached 20.
The victim's statement reveals more than 60 individuals had sexually assaulted her. Additionally, the Pathanamthitta police have registered a new FIR, bringing the total number of FIRs in the case to eight. The arrested include a class 12 student, two siblings, and a man set to be engaged.
Police have also charged the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Meanwhile, Kerala Women’s Commission has suo motu registered a case in connection with the incident. Chairperson Adv. P Satheedevi has directed the Pathanamthitta SP to submit a detailed report on the matter urgently.
Among those arrested is a man who got married in November and another whose engagement was scheduled for the weekend. The arrested include Shamnath, Afsal, his brother Ashiq, Nidhin Prasad, Abhinav, Karthik, Sudheesh, and Appu, with one being a class 12 student.
Apart from these, the police took six more into custody in Ranni: Aravind, Anandu Pradeep, Vishnu, Deepu P Suresh, Binu K Joseph, and Abhilash Kumar. Three of them are autorickshaw drivers. The police have also seized two vehicles used in the crime.
The police have already taken into custody two Maruti 800 cars used by the accused to assault the girl in Elavumthitta. The vehicles were seized from Pathanamthitta and Elavumthitta. The victim stated that the assaults took place inside the cars.
The survivor has stated that the abuse began when her boyfriend, Subin, under the pretext of marriage, first assaulted her. He then recorded explicit images, which were later shared with his friends. These images were widely circulated, leading to further abuse by his friends, her classmates, sports trainers, fellow athletes, and neighbours.
Police revealed that Subin first assaulted the girl at the age of 13, taking her to an isolated rubber plantation in broad daylight. He reportedly filmed the assault and shared the visuals with his friends. Those who viewed these visuals, in the pretext of friendship, befriended the girl and exploited her sexually. The police investigation has revealed that Subin, who sexually assaulted the girl, was presenting her to others for further exploitation. The girl was subsequently taken to various locations, including her school and home, and subjected to repeated sexual abuse.