Kasaragod, 16 Sept

Nine people, including two government employees, have been arrested from this district for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy after befriending him on a mobile app for the LGBTQIA+ community, police said on Tuesday.

According to a senior police officer of the district, the boy was sexually assaulted over two years at his home and other places, including in Kannur and Kozhikode districts, by 14 different men.

The assault came to light when the boy's mother saw a man at their house who ran away on seeing her, police said.

On asking her son, he told her what was happening and she communicated the same to the child line which in turn informed the police, the officer said.

The officer further said that 14 separate cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, have been registered against the accused during the last two days based on the statement given by the boy.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising a DySP and four Inspectors has also been constituted and they will be probing the eight cases related to incidents that occurred in Kasaragod district, the officer said.

The remaining six cases have been transferred to Kozhikode and Kannur districts, where the boy was allegedly sexually assaulted, he said.

The 14 accused in the matter are aged between 25 and 51 years and one of them is a Railways employee, police added.