Indian police arrest dozens for alleged rape and sexual abuse of a teenage girl over a 5-year period

New Delhi – Police in the Indian state of Kerala have arrested 49 of 64 men accused of sexually abusing an 18-year-old girl over the past five years. The girl, who has not been identified, told investigators she had been sexually abused and gang-raped multiple times since she was 13.

The men accused of the attacks include a childhood friend of the girl, along with neighbors and friends of the family, police told CBS News partner network, BBC News. There are at least five students from his university and former classmates of his school among the accused, according to the Indian outlet. The Minute News.

Most of the accused are themselves either teenagers or in their early 20s, according to him The Times of India.

“Forty-nine people have been taken into custody,” Pathanamthitta district Deputy Superintendent of Police Nandakumar S. told AFP news agency on Wednesday. “We have identified the remaining 14 and they will be arrested soon.”

The alleged abuse began five years ago when the girl’s neighbor allegedly molested her and took sexually explicit photos and videos, which he later shared with others and used to blackmail the girl while continuing to abuse her.

Police told Indian media that the girl was allegedly gang-raped at least three times in the past five years.

The alleged abuse came to light last month when a team of counselors working under a government program visited his home.

“She was given counseling, and she opened up to a psychologist, narrating the sexual abuse she faced from the age of 13,” N. Rajeev, head of the National Committee for Child Welfare, told the Indian Express.

The Kerala Police has deputed a team of 25 officers to investigate the allegations.

At least 18 cases have been registered in relation to the alleged abuse of the girl so far under various Indian laws – including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocity) Act – which is meant to prevent crimes against ‘to the people of the lower castes and tribes in the country. India’s centuries-old social hierarchy.

The victim of mass abuse in Kerala is a member of the Dalit community, which is the lowest caste in India. Dalits have faced widespread discrimination and abuse for many years.

Criminal cases were also registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, as most of the alleged abuse took place when the girl was a minor, Deputy Superintendent Nandakumar told the language service BBC Hindi.

The horrifying scale of the alleged abuse has drawn national headlines in a country where an average of nearly 90 rapes were reported every day in 2022, the most recent year for which national data is available. Many more are believed to have not reported.