The Kerala police on Sunday arrested two more men accused in the alleged gangrape of a 24-year-old woman. With these arrests, investigating officers said that all seven accused in the case have been arrested.
On Thursday, a 24-year-old woman from Thiruvananthapuram was allegedly sexually gangraped by a group of men, who are her husband’s friends.
The two men arrested on Sunday are accused number three Arshad and accused number four Noufal. The woman’s husband, who was arrested on Friday, is the sixth accused in the case.
The incident occurred on Thursday night when the woman’s husband took her and their two children to accused number five, Rajan’s house in Vettuthura. Upon reaching his residence, her husband allegedly forced her to consume alcohol and is said to have left the house with one of their children.
When she tried to escape from Rajan’s house with her five-year-old child, she was allegedly abducted in a vehicle, was taken to a bush nearby and was allegedly raped.
Mansoor, Akbar and Arshad, who are the first, second and third accused respectively, are the ones who allegedly raped the woman. All the seven accused are now remanded to judicial custody, the police said.
Accused men (from left): Noufal, Rajan, Manoj
The accused are booked under sections 376D (gangrape), 366 (kidnapping, abduction or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 354 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354B (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe), 349 (Force) and 34 (common intention), of the Indian Penal Code.
The accused have also been charged for sexually harassing one of her children and have also been booked under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, as the alleged crime happened in front of the child.
The quick intervention of police after coming to know about the incident helped them make arrests within two days.
The police were informed about the incident by a group of men who helped the woman while she managed to run away from the alleged perpetrators.
“She had sought help after she saw a vehicle on the road. The men, who were in the vehicle, called the Kadinamkulam police station and asked us what to do. We at once gave direction to take her to her parents home, which we learned was nearby. By the time the woman reached there, police officials were also in the place. Though a formal complaint was not registered, we immediately sent her to hospital for medical check up and, also a team went to the accused Rajan’s house in Vettuthura and nabbed him,” Kadinamkulam Sub Inspector Ratheesh Kumar told TNM.
On the same night, police were able to nab four other men including the woman’s husband, and by Sunday, the two other accused men were also arrested.
The investigation was headed by Kadinamkulam Circle Inspector Vinesh Kumar, SI Ratheesh Kumar under the supervision of Attingal Deputy Superintendent of Police Suresh SY and Thiruvananthapuram (Rural) District Police Chief B Ashokan.