Two men were arrested for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Tanur, Malappuram. The accused kidnapped and brutally tortured the boy. Kunjichan Purakkal Navas (32) and Pourakath Safir (36) of Korman Beach have been arrested.

On Saturday, the boy was walking to Tanur when one accused stopped his motorcycle and offered to drop the child off at Tanur, and the boy got on the bike. After some distance, the second accused also got into the vehicle. The accused then took the child to a deserted area.

The boy testified that he was then taken to an empty field, forced to smoke marijuana and sexually assaulted. Both Navas and Safir, who was intoxicated, later took the child to another place, sodomised and abandoned him.

The parents filed a complaint with the police. There are several cases against Navas, including the sale of ganja and attempted murder.

According to Tanur DySP V V Benny’s instructions, an investigation team led by Police Inspector N. R. Sujith and Sub Inspector Nisha and their team caught the accused. The accused were caught in an investigation focusing on CCTVs and mobile phones.

The Korman Beach area in Tanur is a dangerous place for minors, especially young boys.

Last December, two paedophile suspects who tried to abduct a minor boy who was leaving the madrassa near Korman Beach Fakir mosque on Tippu Sultan Road were arrested. The incident happened at 8.30 am. A two-wheeler gang tried to abduct the madrassa student.

CCTV footage showed one of the accused, who had covered his face, got off the scooter and tried to force the boy onto the vehicle. Other children who were with the victim resisted. In the footage, the children raised a commotion, and the accused sped away, leaving the boy.

Based on the complaint filed by the child’s relatives to the police, a case was registered against two people. It was registered against Kottilakath Zulfikar (19) of Korman Beach and Beerankuttinde Purakal Yaseen (18) of Fakir Beach.

Interestingly, back then, Tanur police did not register a case against the accused. The police claimed that Zulfikar and Yaseen were the victim’s neighbours and did it as a prank. They were released on station bail. The police warned that strict action would be against those who commit such acts for fun.

Did police apathy and negligence encourage paedophiles to sodomise the minor boy on Saturday?