Leaders of various tribal and political organisations have expressed concern over the increasing sexual exploitation of and atrocities against tribal girls in the district.
The Ambalavayal police on Friday arrested a man in connection with sexually abusing a minor tribal girl after she was forced to consume illicit liquor with the support of his wife. A few weeks ago, the Mepadi police had arrested 11 men in connection with the rape of three minor girls of a tribal colony.
Ramanathan, a tribal activist at Ambalavayal, said many a time minor girls were sexually abused after anti-social elements exploited the addiction of tribesmen to alcohol. Such elements either brewed illicit liquor near tribal colonies or bought low-quality liquor from nearby towns.
When such exploitation did come to light, the police tried to pin the blame on the victims, offering the accused opportunities to escape the law, Mr. Ramanathan said.
C.K. Saseendran, district unit secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said the tendency of the police to treat such incidents as trivial was the reason for the increase in atrocities against tribespeople. Surveillance of vulnerable tribal hamlets by the police was an effective solution. Active intervention of the public had a crucial role to play in curbing such incidents, he said.
Kerala Adivasi Forum district president Baby Makkiyad said reconstitution of the special mobile squad of the police department by adding tribal-friendly officials was needed to curb the sexual exploitation of tribespeople.
The increasing incidence of sexual exploitation of tribal girls showed the neglect of the tribal people by the police and the Tribal Development Department, Vijayan Cherukara, district secretary of the Communist Party of India said. Awareness programmes to sensitise tribespeople to alcohol abuse and regular monitoring of remote tribal colonies by the police with the support of the public could check the problem to a certain extent, he said.
