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Credits: The News Minute
Kerala: Man Arrested For Sexually Abusing His Foster Child, Probe Ordered
Writer: Devyani Madaik
A media enthusiast, Devyani believes in learning on the job and there is nothing off limits when it comes to work. Writing is her passion and she is always ready for a debate as well.
Kerala, 15 Jan 2021 11:57 AM GMT
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According to the police, the accused is a repeated offender and has a POCSO case against him for sexually abusing a minor girl from Iritty in Kannur.
The Kerala Police on January 9, arrested a 60-year-old man from Kannur's Kuthuparamba, for sexually abusing a minor girl who was under his foster care for the last five years.
Minister for Women and Child Development KK Shailaja Teacher has now ordered the Director, Department of Women and Child Development, to investigate and submit a report in the case.
The incident took place in 2017 but came into light after the survivor's sister disclosed the matter to the Child Welfare Committee, Ernakulam, during a counselling session three years later.
The minor was in class 10th at the time. The accused had threatened to kill her if the girl revealed the incident to anyone.
According to the Kuthuparamba police, the accused CG Sasikumar, a tabla artist, had taken the 14-year-old girl at his foster in 2015, under the state government's foster care program. He had got the child from a foster care centre in Kakkanad, Ernakulam, after receiving required permission from the Ernakulam Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
After the girl moved to Kannur with the accused and his wife, she was allegedly sexually assaulted. The abuse resulted in pregnancy.
The survivor's sister's complaint was the starting point of investigation for the police and led to the arrest of Sasikumar and his wife, Ratna Kumari, who was aware of her husband's abuse of the minor, The News Minute reported.
Both were booked under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code, and various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Alleged repeated offender
According to police, Sasikumar is a history-sheeter. In the years 2012 and 2014, he fostered two minor girls from Iritty in Kannur. The Kuthuparamba police officials said that there is already a POCSO case against him for sexually abusing one of the girls with the Iritty police.
Sasikumar has also lied in his CWC application to foster the child in 2015, as he stated that he was a retired army man.
Reportedly, Shailaja Teacher's directives came in the wake of massive criticism of the Child Welfare Committee that failed to follow procedures and assure the foster child's protection.
The minister has also ordered an inquiry to probe whether the former Child Welfare Committee, Ernakulam, which released the child, was at fault.
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