Kerala teen reveals she was sexually abused by 38 men

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 17-year-old rape survivor has alleged that she was sexually abused by 38 people following her release from a rescue centre in Kerala’s Malappuram last year, police officials said on Monday. Thirty-three of the 38 accused have been arrested, the officials said. The sexual abuse came to light during a counseling session at a Nirbhaya centre recently, the officials said.

The minor girl was first raped in 2016, when she was 13, the officials said. A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act was filed and the girl was moved to a shelter home in the district, the officials said. She was allowed to go home in 2017, but soon she filed another complaint accusing a neighbour of sexual assault, police officials said. She was then shifted to the Nirbhaya centre, they said. The authorities at the centre allowed her to go home to live with her mother and brother during the lockdown early last year, the officials said. The girl went missing after her release from the centre and was traced to Palakkad in December last year, investigating officer Mohammad Haneefa said. Authorities at the child shelter home said that they track survivors after their release but could not conduct proper followups with the girl amid Covid-19 restrictions.

“We have started an inquiry against the care home to find out any lapse on its part,” a senior official of the social welfare ministry said.