In a shocking incident, a minor rape survivor has alleged that she was sexually abused by 38 people after her release from a rescue centre in Malappuram district of Kerala in 2020. Local police said on Monday that 33 of the 38 accused have been arrested.
The 17-year-old girl narrated her ordeal during a counseling session at a Nirbhaya centre few days ago. The girl said that she was first raped in 2016, when she was 13. At that time, the police had registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and the girl was moved to a shelter home in the district. In 2017, the girl was allowed to go home but she soon approached the police accusing a neighbour of sexual assault. According to police officials, the girl was then shifted to the Nirbhaya centre.
The officials said that the girl was allowed by Nirbhaya centre officials to go home to live with her mother and brother during the lockdown in 2020 but she went missing after her release from the centre. The vicitm was then traced to Palakkad in December 2020.
