One week after she went missing from her house in Oachira, Kollam district, a 15-year-old girl has been found in Panvel, Navi Mumbai. Along with the girl, the Kerala police also caught 19-year-old Mohammad Roshan, the main accused in the case of abducting her from her house. The two have been missing since March 18 night.
“The two were found in the early hours of Tuesday. After the necessary procedures, the two will be taken back to Kerala on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Roshan will be produced before the court when we reach Kerala,” the Assistant Commissioner of Police, who is investigating the case, told TNM.
On March 18, a gang of four members allegedly entered the girl’s house in Oachira’s Valiyakulangara area, and took the girl away, reportedly after assaulting her father. Two days later, the three members of the gang – Vipin Paykuzhya, a native of Valiyakulangara in Oachira; Pyari, a native of Payikkuzhi; and Ajayan, a native of Vallikavu – were arrested and remanded. The vehicle used to transport the girl was also seized.
Soon after the incident, two teams of police officers were deputed to Bengaluru and later at Pali in Rajasthan, the native of the girl and her family.
Roshan, who is the son of CPI Branch Secretary Navas, was named the main accused in the case. When the news broke, Navas had told the media then that his son should be punished if he had committed the crime.
Cases were registered under sections 457 (Lurking, house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), 323, 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt), 366 (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her to marry) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.
The Sub Inspector of Oachira police station had told TNM that based on the information they received, the minor was close to Roshan, and the three others were his accomplices. He also said that they were not sure about the circumstances that led to the alleged abduction of the girl.