An 18-year-old Dalit woman from south India’s Kerala state is accusing over 60 men of sexually abusing her over five years.
The survivor, an athlete, belongs to one of India’s most oppressed castes.
Police say they have arrested at least 28 people based on her complaint.
They are accused of sexually abusing her over five years. The accused, aged between 17 and 47, include her neighbour, sports coach, father’s friend, fellow athletes, and classmates.
“Preliminary investigation suggested that the girl, who takes part in school-level athletic training, was abused by sports trainer, fellow athlete and others,” a police officer told The Times of India.
The alleged abuse came to light after the woman reported it to counsellors at a gender awareness programme held under a government scheme in the Pathanamthitta district.
Police say they have registered 18 cases against the accused under various laws, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The abuse started at the age of 13 when a neighbour of the teenager allegedly molested her and took explicit pictures of her.
In the course of the next five years, she was abused by 64 men and allegedly gangraped three times.
The woman meticulously documented her abusers and gave leads to the investigators, police said.
“This is a rare and disturbing case of prolonged exploitation,” a police officer told The South First. Another said a case of this magnitude “may be unprecedented under a POSCO case”.
The Kerala government has formed a special team comprising 25 officers to expedite the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations.
At least 14 of those arrested have been remanded to 14-day judicial custody while police locate the rest of the perpetrators.
Veena George, the state’s minister for women and child development, has promised that all the accused would be brought to justice. “This heinous crime will not go unpunished,” she said.
