Fifteen of the 31 women who were detrained in suspicious circumstances from a coach of the Dhanbad- Alappuzha Express at Shoranur Junction last Wednesday had been sexually exploited, a medical report says.
The report was obtained by the Palakkad District Child Welfare Committee from doctors at the Government District Hospital here.
The women hailed from Jharkhand and Odisha, and 14 of this group are minors. The women were accompanied by five men.
Shoranur Railway Protection Force Circle Inspector B. Santhosh and his team arrested the men after they failed to provide satisfactory replies to their queries.
The women were sent to the Mahila Mandiram in Palakkad and underwent medical examination there.
The child rights committee will decide on the course of action based on the medical report.
The police suspect it to be a case of human trafficking, though the team members said they were en route to Thoppumpady in Kochi to join a seafood processing company.
Investigation is on to confirm the suspected role of a sex racket.
The ID cards the group had with them were found to be bogus.
