Four-year-old boy sexually molested in passenger ship; Lakshadweep native arrested in Kochi

KOCHI: A man was arrested by Fort Kochi Coastal Police for sexually assaulting a four-year-old boy inside a passenger ship on Thursday. Lakshadweep Vadakkumthala native Shemir Khan (20) was arrested by Fort Kochi Coastal Police in the incident. This is the first case of sexual assault on a ship to be registered in Kerala since the POCSO Act came into force in 2012.

The incident took place on the HSC PARALI passenger ship of the Lakshadweep government that departed from Kavaratti on the 22nd. The mother of the sick child was lying in the passenger compartment. In the meantime, the accused wooed the boy to accompany him, promising to show him fish in the sea. The accused took the child to the toilet and sexually assaulted him. The child revealed the details of the horrific assault to his mother upon returning to the berth. Passengers, ship crew, and security officers who learned of the incident detained the suspect and reported it to the police.

When the ship arrived at the Kochi port on Wednesday night, the Coastal Police took the accused into custody. The accused is an electrician in Kochi.

The rape took place when HSC PARALI was 65 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. The Fort Kochi Coastal Police has the authority to prosecute crimes committed at sea up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.