The Kerala Police on Tuesday arrested a 15-year-old boy, a day after he made a brutal attempt to sexually assault a 21-year-old college student in Kondotty in Kerala’s Malappuram district, police said. The incident has triggered shockwaves in the state and posed questions on the misuse of the internet by youngsters.
Malappuram superintendent of police Sujith Das said the young stalker was arrested after the police checked CCTV visuals of some houses in the area and based on the statement of the college student. He said the boy has no criminal record and the woman also said he had never troubled her earlier. However, the teenager’s parents said he was addicted to watching horror films and adult videos.
The SP said the woman had a narrow escape after she fiercely resisted his advances. He also received minor injuries and when his parents asked about his injuries he said he had been chased by a stray dog and had fallen into a ditch. However, when the police reached his residence and questioned him, he confessed that he had received injuries while assaulting the 21-year-old woman. In his hurry to escape from the spot, he had left his slippers at the site and later his parents identified them, the SP said.
According to the police, he had followed the woman for some distance before attacking her close to a secluded banana plantation. The accused had hit her on the head with a stone, tied her arms and pressed down on her neck to subdue her but she fought back and saved herself. The police added that the boy was also a district level judo champion.
After escaping from him, the woman managed to reach a nearby house and alerted them. The woman, in whose house the college student took refuge, told the media that her hands were tied and she had injuries on her face and head and was bleeding profusely. She was discharged from hospital on Tuesday. “She fought back valiantly and escaped. We have already seized his mobile phone and other gadgets,” the SP said adding the minor would be sent to a juvenile home after investigation.
