A case of a 47-year-old Muslim merchant who allegedly impregnated and married off the victim to his friend was reported from Ambalapuzha near Alappuzha, Kerala. Police arrested Maliyekkal Naizam and registered a case against him under The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences act (POCSO). The victim worked in Nizam’s hardware shop for more than five years. 

The young lady married on 18 December but became pregnant the following week. She then sought treatment at Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. During the examination, doctors revealed that the woman was pregnant long before her marriage.

When the husband’s family learned about this, they questioned the girl. That is when the truth about five years of torture came out. Information has come out that Naizam took the initiative to marry the lady to a young man he knew.

The victim told the police that the Muslim merchant had raped her since she was 16. Earlier, she had protested against the torture, and Naizam expelled her from his shop. A few months later, the accused visited the girl’s house and demanded she returns to work. 

Naizam assured the girl that she would not be harmed again. But later, he threatened and continued the rape. There are also allegations that he physically abused the victim. The Muslim merchant exploited the financial instability of the impoverished victim’s family. 

According to the girl’s statement, Naizam took her to a lodge room in Alappuzha and forced her to consume alcohol. He then invited his friends, who took turns and allegedly raped her. 

Naizam was caught by angry locals and thrashed before being handed over to the police. He had injuries all over his body and had to be given emergency treatment at Alappuzha Medical College. Later, he was produced before the Ambalapuzha court and remanded.

Police have not revealed the religious identity of the victim. Employing minors is a severe offense under Bharatiya laws. Whether Naizam’s friends who raped the lady at the Alappuzha lodge have been booked remains unclear. The incident was reported on 25 January.

Last June, Punnapra police arrested a 70-year-old man under the POCSO Act for misbehaving with a 10th-class student. Elias, who runs a stationery shop west of Paravur Junction, sexually assaulted the minor girl who came to his store. The accused was produced in court and remanded. Punnapra is 8 km north of Ambalapuzha.

Again on 25 January, a man on the police’s gangster list was arrested in a POCSO case from Malappuram. Basheer (40) was detained by the Kutippuram police after sexually assaulting a minor student. The serial criminal was on the run for a few days. Basheer was produced in Tirur court and remanded for 14 days. He is an accused in several cases in Kuttipuram and Valanchery police stations.

That same day, an accused who repeatedly sexually assaulted a ten-year-old boy was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of Rs 70,000 in Malappuram. Perinthalmanna Fast Track Special POSCO Court Judge K P Anil Kumar sentenced Ali Akbar (62), a native of Wandoor. Akbar was initially arrested in the POCSO case booked under Wandoor police station in 2016.

Sub Inspector Narayanan investigated the case and filed the charge sheet. Special Public Prosecutor Sapna Parameswaran appeared for the prosecution.

Though Muslims claim to be a minority, they run the majority of business establishments in Kerala. As part of appeasement politics, the state and the central government have handed out doles disproportionately to the so-called minorities. In Kerala, the entry of halal has wiped out Hindus from many industries.