The Ernakulam rural police have registered a case on the alleged abuse of a 15-year-old girl, a resident of an orphanage near Aluva, by her father.
Officials said a case had been registered against the man, who is 45, a native of Mariyapuram in Idukki, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on a complaint by the Aluva-based Janaseva Sisubhavan. The victim’s statement was taken at the Aluva Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, and she was subjected to medical examination.
According to the complaint, the incident happened in 2014. The accused had taken the victim and her sister from Janaseva Sisubhavan to his house in Idukki during the summer vacation and sexually assaulted her.
The incident came to light when the accused approached the orphanage authorities a couple of days ago (April 25) with an order from the Child Welfare Committee to take the girls home once again during the current summer vacation.
“However, the children refused to go along with him nd when enquired, the elder girl revealed her ordeal to the orphanage authorities. Upon being alerted by the orphanage officials, ChildLine volunteers counselled her and referred the case to the police,” officials said.
A case under relevant Sections of the POCSO Act and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 was registered against the accused. The case has been referred to the Idukki police for further investigation.
Meanwhile, officials said the incident was just the latest in a string of child sexual abuse (CSA) cases that had rocked the region. There has been a steady rise in CSA cases in the region over the last couple of years, they say.
For instance, ChildLine intervened in over 90 CSA cases during the period between April 2016 and March 2017 as against 81 cases the previous year. The number of CSA cases reported by the agency steadily rose from 53 in 2013-14 to 68 in 2014- 15.
