Elderly man accused of raping young domestic help in Kochi |

Kochi: In a shocking incident, a 23-year-old tribal woman from Odisha was allegedly raped by a 75-year-old man in the house where she worked as a domestic help. After being alerted by an NGO, police rescued the woman, who was in shock and fear due to her lack of knowledge of the place and language, from the house on the Silver sand islandVyttila.
The case has been registered against a resident of Silver Sand Island. However, the suspect, said to be a person who held prominent positions, remains at large even after an FIR was registered on October 17.
Maradu police said the suspect has moved to court for anticipatory bail but they are continuing their search for him. Police said the FIR was initially registered for criminal violence against women for outraging her modesty but later a chargesheet was filed in the court to file charges for rape after the medical report and doctor’s statement confirmed the rape.
According to the FIR, the incident took place on October 15 in the morning. According to the petitioner, the suspect made the victim unconscious by adding juice to her and sexually assaulted her.
The survivor informed her relative, who works as a domestic help in the city, about the incident. The family member shared it with her employer, who in turn informed the Center for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), which reported the violation.
CMID director Benoy Peter said they sought the help of another partner organization working in Odisha. “They spoke to her over the phone in her language and gathered more details. We then told her to take a picture of the house and send it to us, to find the exact location. The woman who passed on the information then taught the survivor how to transmit a GPS location,” Peter said.
CMID’s Ayaz Anwar, who went to Silver Sand Island, said he alerted Maradu police after confirming the location. “A female police officer came to the house with me. The survivor was able to convey basic information to the police officer. We also called the woman from the NGO in Odisha and got her to talk to her. Because the gate was locked, we had to save her by making her climb over the barrier,” Ayaz said. He said the woman was scared and wanted to go home, even though someone kept calling her, apparently to dissuade her from pursuing the complaint.
Police can also invoke the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after receiving relevant documents proving that the survivor belongs to a tribal community.