Goat theft case leads to arrest of Pathanamthitta man accused of forcing woman to smoke cannabis

Pathanamthitta: A goat theft case has led to the arrest of a man from Pathanamthitta who is accused of forcing a woman to smoke cannabis. Stoy Varghese, 30, from Thiruvalla, was detained by Keezhvaipur police.

On Sunday, Stoy’s associate, Basalel C. Mathew, 37, from Kallooppara, was arrested following a complaint from the woman. Basalel was apprehended after police surrounded his residence. Initially, Stoy's involvement was not evident.

According to the complaint, on 3 June at approximately 4 pm, Basalel and Stoy forcibly abducted a woman near Kadamankulam Health Centre. Basalel is alleged to have retrieved cannabis from the back seat of their car and insisted she smoke it. When she refused, he compelled her to do so. Stoy reportedly threatened her with a knife and coerced her into smoking the cannabis while recording the incident on a mobile phone.

The Keezhvaipur police initially faced challenges in gathering evidence. However, a breakthrough came when Stoy was arrested in connection with a separate goat theft case filed by Adoor police. It is learnt that mobile phone footage of the incident led to this breakthrough. Stoy was later arrested in the earlier case with court approval.

The investigation is being conducted by a team including the Deputy Superintendent of Police for Thiruvalla, along with Keezhvaipur Police Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors.