The police here on Saturday arrested three 20-year-olds on the charge of sexually abusing a minor girl. The arrested were identified as Rahul Raj of Erumeli, and Ananthu and Mahesh of Madukka.
A probe is on to trace the fourth accused identified as Ajith from Koruthodu. All have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the IPC.
The abuse came to light during a police probe into the suicide attempt by two 15-year-old girls from Koruthodu. The duo, with their hands tied to each other, had jumped into the Manimala river last week and was rescued by the local people.
Though the girls attributed the episode to differences with their parents over the making of a TikTok video, one of them later revealed that she had been sexually abused by four persons since the age of 12. A medical examination confirmed sexual abuse and the police traced the accused by checking the girl’s mobile phone. An accused had captured a video of the victim in compromising positions and threatened her using the footage. He shared the video with his friends, who too exploited her sexually, the police said. The accused were remanded.
