56 held for rape of Kerala Dalit athlete, Vijayan tells assembly

Kochi: The special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala Police has arrested 56 of the total 59 accused in the case of alleged rape of an 18-year-old Dalit athlete in the Pathanamthitta district, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the assembly on Thursday.

The chief minister revealed the details and progress of the police probe in response to starred questions filed by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) legislators, including NA Nellikunnu and Najeeb Kanthapuram, during the Question Hour of the ongoing budget session of the assembly.

The CM confirmed that 30 first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged in various police stations in Pathanamthitta district and one FIR within the Thiruvananthapuram rural limits in connection with the allegations of sexual assault and gangrape of the Dalit athlete.

The district-level athlete has told police that she was blackmailed and sexually abused by at least 62 people over the last five years. A male friend began the chain of sexual assault when she was 13, and allegedly recorded explicit photos and videos with which he and his accomplices blackmailed her over the years, she alleged.

The CM told the assembly, “Of the remaining three accused who are yet to be arrested, two are slated to be abroad and one is absconding. Of the 56 arrested so far, seven are minors.”

“The SIT is continuing the investigation in the case under the leadership of three deputy superintendents (SPs) in Pathanamthitta and one deputy SP in Thiruvananthapuram. The Thiruvananthapuram Range DIG has been tasked with ensuring a probe and prosecution proceedings without any loopholes,” he added.

The SIT has filed most of the cases under sections 376 (rape), 376 D (gangrape), 376 (2)(n) (repeatedly raping the same person) etc of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 137(2) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, IT Act, and Prevention of Atrocities against SC/STs Act, the CM added.

To a question on what the government has done so far in ensuring security of women, the CM said that mobile applications like POL APP and Nirbhaya can be used to quickly contact police personnel in case of threats or dangerous situations. Additionally, police in collaboration with NGOs such as Bachpan Bachao Andolan has devised a comprehensive legal awareness campaign to make children aware of cyber crimes.

The SIT probe has found that the Dalit woman was gang-raped multiple times, including in public locations such as the Pathanamthitta general hospital and inside cars near rubber estates and abandoned buildings within the town.

The survivor had first recounted the details of the abuse to volunteers of the “Snehitha” help desk of the Kudumbashree unit at her school. After hearing of the revelations, the child welfare committee (CWC) transferred the woman to a shelter home and gave her psychological counselling. The survivor then went on to give detailed statements to police.