Man held for groping minor girl in cinema

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala police on Saturday arrested a businessman for allegedly abusing a minor girl who was sitting next to him in a cinema theatre in Malappuram district.

CCTV visuals from the theatre showed the middle-aged man, Moyideen Kutty, groping the 10-year-old girl next to him for more than two hours.

The incident took place on April 18 and the theatre in Edappal handed over the visuals to district childline authorities, who informed police on April 25. But police did not act on the complaint for more than two weeks. They filed an FIR only on Saturday after a news channel aired the visuals.

The CCTV clips that later went viral on social media also showed while the man was groping the minor ruthlessly a woman sitting with her, suspected to be her mother, sat quietly. Theatre employees said the businessman (who runs many shops and restaurants), hailing from Thrithala, reached the cinema hall in his luxury car while the mother and daughter arrived a little before and seats were booked in advance.

Theatre staff said they checked the CCTV after one of the viewers alerted them about the disturbing scenes. It was clear from the visuals that the woman accompanying the minor was aware of the abuse but kept quiet. Childline officials said they will file a separate complaint against the woman after obtaining details.

“We have formed a special investigation team and ADDP Anil Kanth will monitor the investigation. We will take strict action against the officers who sat over the case,” said state police chief Loknath Behra.