26, Jan 2016

One of the minors arrested is the case is the son of a police constable from Fort Kochi
Written by Shaju Philip | Thiruvananthapuram | Published:January 26, 2016 2:46 am
Police has ordered the closure of a homestay in Fort Kochi where two women were allegedly gangraped over the last three months. Six youths and two minors were held over the weekend for their alleged involvement in two different rape cases at the Good Shepherd homestay. In both incidents, the same person had allegedly recorded the assaults on his cellphone to blackmail the victims.
Meanwhile, police said apart from evidence for the two cases, they had not recovered any other video of sexual assault from the mobile phones of the accused. “Our probe has not revealed any further incidents of rape or involvement of more persons,’’ said an officer.
One of the minors arrested is the case is the son of a police constable from Fort Kochi, who was transferred in the wake of the incident.
As all arrested accused were remanded in judicial custody, police sources said that Althaf, whose mobile was used to record the assaults, was an agent who brought guests to homestays. E Christy, who is the second accused, started working at the homestay only four months back. Althaf befriended Christy, who worked during night shift at the homestay, and was alerted by him about the prospective targets.
Sources claimed that the other accused did not have a criminal background.
Meanwhile, the tourism department also said the Good Shepherd Homestay did not have the mandatory licence to operate in the area.