Kollam: Police confirms rescued Rajasthani girl is a minor

Kollam: The police team probing the abduction of a Rajasthani girl from Oachira has confirmed the girl is minor after verifying the authenticity of her school certificate. With this, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) Act charges against the four accused in the case will stand.

The relatives of accused had earlier claimed the girl was major and that the school document produced by her parents was forged. The team produced the main accused Muhammad Roshan, 19, before a court in Kollam on Thursday after collecting evidences in Oachira and Mumbai where the accused stayed with the girl after abduction.The police team had extended their investigation to the school at Rampura in Rajasthan, from where her transfer certificate has been procured, to verify the authenticity of the document. It has also been found that the girl studied till third standard and belonged to a scheduled caste. The girl is currently lodged at the women's home in Kollam based on the direction from the court as the girl had refused to go along with her parents.The prime accused Muhammad Roshan was earlier charged with rape in addition to the charges under sections of  PoCSO. This was following a medical test conducted at the Karunagappally taluk hospital which proved the girl was subjected to sexual assault.

Police suspect the girl was raped by the accused while the duo was in Mumbai. The girl has given statement before the police that the accused had not kidnapped her, but she went on her own.

The police team had brought the abducted girl back to Oachira after it found her along with the prime accused Muhammad Roshan at Panvel in Mumbai.

While, the relatives of the accused alleged the girl was not minor, the police received a copy of the girl's school transfer certificate that recorded her birthdate to be in September 2001, proving that she is a minor.

Muhammad Roshan, 21, of Kannitta, Memana South, in Oachira, Ananthu, 20, of Payikkuzhi, Bipin, 20, of Changankulangara, and Pyari, 19, of Payikkuzhi are the accused in the case. All the accused have been charged under sections of PoCSO.

According to the police, Muhammad Roshan had taken the girl to Bengaluru in a train from Kochi and then to Mumbai. The police team had trailed a phone call made by a relative of the accused to trace them in Mumbai. The police team had conducted search operations in Rajasthan and Bengaluru before zeroing in on them in Mumbai.

The girl, daughter of a Rajasthani couple, was abducted by the gang led by Muhammad Roshan, beating up her parents before she was dragged into a rented car and kidnapped by around 10 pm on March 18.