At least five men have been detained in Kerala’s Wayanad for allegedly molesting at least six minor girls from a children’s home. The girls had been assaulted for the past six months, officials said.
An investigation was launched after their school authorities found one of the girls “in a suspicious circumstance’, and alerted the local police, The Hindu reported on Monday. On being questioned, she revealed that several other girls had also been subjected to sexual assault. A case has been registered against the accused. The administration has yet to reveal more details.
There have been several reports on the sexual exploitation of minors and crimes against women in the area recently. On Monday, the state government had disbanded the Child Welfare Committee of Wayanad, and removed its chairman and a member of the committee in connection with another case of sexual assault, involving a 17-year-old girl. Investigations had revealed that they had tried to cover up the incident that involved a Catholic priest, reported PTI. The girl had given birth on February 7. Ironically, the accused was known for speaking publicly against child sex abuse.
On December 8, 2016, another priest was sentenced to double life imprisonment, and fined Rs 2.15 lakh under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for raping a minor. A formal complaint was filed against him on April 1, but he was absconding. He belonged to the Kottapuram diocese before he was relieved of his priestly duties for the crime.
In January, Pope Francis had directed Catholic bishops across the world to maintain zero tolerance towards child sexual abuse by the clergy. His statements followed the arrest of a priest in Kerala on charges of sexually abusing an 11-year-old schoolboy on December 21.
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