Manaladi Kizhkathil Anshad (29), a photographer and an accused who allegedly raped several young women after promising marriage, was arrested. He used the same tactic and groomed a lady from Nooranad, Alappuzha. The accused is also a native of Nooranad. Anshad took the lady to various places and sexually assaulted her.
Anshad met the young engineering graduate through Instagram last year. She was working in a private firm in Ernakulam. Anshad groomed her promising marriage and took her to his house near Athikkattukulangara, where he raped the vulnerable lady. He then forced the woman to accompany him in his car and sexually assaulted her at a homestay in Marad on the outskirts of Ernakulam.
The victim then reminded Anshad about his promise to marry her. This enraged Anshad, and he began to threaten the young lady. Anshad told the girl that if she divulged his sexual assaults, he would endanger her parents. Pushed into a corner, the young woman decided to commit suicide.
Fortunately for her parents, she regained her self-confidence and approached the Marad police station and registered a case against Anshad. Police officers conducted a preliminary inquiry. After the investigation, the accused was arrested from Adoor in Pathanamthitta district.
On checking Anshad’s mobile phone, it was found that the accused had lured several young women similarly. Allegedly, police found several nude photos of his prey. His list of victims included married and unmarried young women. Several vulnerable ladies had fallen into Anshad’s trap.
Police also found that the accused, a photographer, used ‘filters’ on various photos of himself and posted them on Instagram. This allowed him to look handsome. Grooming/rape jihadis are known to work hard on their appearances. Was Anshad one too?
Nooranad Station House Officer (SHO) P Sreejith and his team arrested the accused. Anshad was produced before the Mavelikkara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court and remanded. Such grooming cases are on the rise in Kerala. Police have not released the religious identity of the victims.
