Kochi drug-and-assault case: Firoz Khan and Attani Aneesh remanded 

KOCHI: In a chilling case of abduction and prolonged confinement, a woman working at a hotel in Ernakulam was allegedly kept tied up and forcefully drugged for four days inside a local lodge. The police have arrested and remanded two men, including a notorious local gangster, in connection with the repeated sexual assault of the victim.

The Ernakulam North Police identified the remanded accused as Firoz Khan, a native of Paravoor in Kollam, and Attani Aneesh, a known history-sheeter. Firoz was arrested for abducting and torturing the woman from June 18 to June 22 at a lodge on SRM Road, while Aneesh was taken into custody for previously sexually assaulting the same woman at his residence in Mattancherry in March.

The investigation revealed that Firoz Khan abducted the victim from Kaloor in a Honda City car belonging to a friend. To force her into the vehicle, Firoz reportedly blackmailed her by showing mobile phone footage of her being assaulted by Attani Aneesh during the earlier incident in March.

According to the victim's statement to the police, she was forcibly injected with narcotics as soon as she was pushed into the car. The heavy drugging left her incapacitated, preventing her from screaming for help or resisting her captor.

Once at the lodge on SRM Road, the victim was allegedly kept tied up in a room for four days, during which Firoz repeatedly assaulted her. The police have already secured crucial CCTV footage showing Firoz arriving at the lodge premises with the victim.

During a targeted raid conducted by a team led by Ernakulam North Circle Inspector Anoop, investigators recovered several syringes from the lodge room, which were allegedly used to administer the narcotics. A medical examination has officially confirmed that the victim was subjected to sexual assault, and the medical findings have been incorporated into the formal remand report presented to the court.

Authorities have collected the victim's blood samples for advanced forensic testing to identify the exact chemical presence of the narcotics administered to her during her captivity.

The police are currently tracking the whereabouts of the Honda City car used in the abduction. Meanwhile, separate investigations into both assault cases are progressing simultaneously.
The Mattancherry Police recently recorded the victim's detailed statement regarding the March assault, which she testified took place at Aneesh’s residence on Puthiya Road. Concurrently, the Ernakulam North Police have initiated legal procedures to formally record the victim's statutory statement before a female magistrate.