Real suspect identified in abduction and rape of 10-year-old girl in Kasargod

KASARGOD: The accused in the case of abducting and sexually abusing a ten-year-old girl in Kasargod, has been identified. She was abducted from her home when she was sleeping. The accused is a youth from Kodagu. He is also an accused in a POCSO case. The police had earlier taken one into custody on the basis of the CCTV footage and statement. The police had said that only after the DNA results are obtained, it can be confirmed that he is the accused. However, the information is that the accused has been identified before the results were obtained.

One from the area saw the CCTV footage and passed the information of the person to the police. Although his face was not clear in the footage, he recognized the accused after seeing the way he walked. The search for the accused was intensified. The police confirmed that the accused is not the one who was in their custody. The police had earlier taken a youth from the area into custody from his relative's house. He is accused in many cases including rape.

The girl was abducted from her home in Padannakkad coastal area last Wednesday at around 3 in the morning. After sexually abusing the girl half a kilometre away from her house, the accused stole her earrings and then fled.

The locals found the girl abandoned with injuries on her eyes and neck. It was first believed that the accused's motive was theft. When the child was subjected to medical examination at the Kanhangad district hospital, it was found that she was sexually abused.

The girl had stated that the accused was a skinny person who speaks Malayalam. She told the police that she was wearing a lungi, a shirt and a mask. He abducted the girl from the backdoor of her kitchen which was kept open. Her grandfather had opened the door and left it open when he went out to milk the cow. The police from the beginning had stated that a person who knows it, is behind the act.

District Police head P Bijoy is camping in Kanhangad and monitoring the investigation. Hozdurg DySP V V Latheesh, Kannur Crime Branch DySP P Balakrishnan Nair, Kannur Narcotics Cell DySP C K Sunil Kumar, Hozdurg Police Inspector M P Azad and Nileswaram Inspector K V Umesh are in the investigation team.