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MALAPPURAM: A 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by around 30 people at Chelari in the district. It is suspected that the girl, who is a Class VII student, was raped with the support of her father.

In connection with the incident, Tirurangadi police have filed a case under various sections of Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and arrested two people. The arrested have been identified as Ashraf, 36, son of Muhammed Kutty, a resident of Mele Chelari and Shyju, 38, son of Karuppan, a resident of Chenakkalanagdi.

The issue came to light, when local people alerted the PTA members of the school, where the girl was studying. The teachers, who observed the girl, found that she was frequently skipping classes and was mentally disturbed. Following this, school authorities informed Childline authorities and details of the sexual abuse were revealed when the childline volunteers counselled the girl.

The girl was produced before Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Malappuram on Saturday and was sheltered at a children’s home in Malappuram. On Sunday, the Tirurangadi police registered the case and the survivor was produced before magistrate to record her statement.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

