Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the spike in child rape cases continue to draw public wrath, Malappuram police’s laxity in probing a case of minor girl’s molestation has raised serious questions.

The incident occurred on April 18 when a 60-year-old businessman molested a minor girl at a cinema hall in Malappuram’s Edappal town.

“We have the CCTV footage of the movie hall where accused Moideen is seen seated in the middle with the girl and her mother on either side of his seat. The man can be seen indulging in some sort of consensual act with the mother while sexually assaulting the girl at the same time,” a police officer said.

When the theatre owner came across the footage, he immediately contacted Childline with the visual evidence, following which a complaint was filed with the local police on April 28. However, the investigation was allegedly delayed by the police officers.

They swung into action only when the footage was accessed by the media. While the accused was taken into custody on Saturday and booked under section 354 (outraging modesty of a woman) of the IPC and the POCSO Act, Changaramkulam Sub-Inspector K G Baby was suspended for the delay in probe.

Meanwhile, the minor has been taken out from the custody of her mother and placed under the protection of child welfare committee.

According to statistics compiled by the Kerala police, there has been a 600% increase in crimes committed against children in the state in the past ten years.

A newspaper report stated that Kerala police registered 1,101 cases of child rape in 2017 while the total number of child rape cases in 2008 was 215.