KOCHI: The Kochi City police are probing the role of a sex racket in an incident in which a woman was molested in a car and her valuables stolen near the Kaloor international stadium by a couple and their accomplice after promising her a role in a film.
The police have identified three persons allegedly involved in the incident which took place four months back. They are Ammu, 25, her husband Kannan, 32, and their accomplice Ambadi, 27, of Karappuzha in Kottayam. While Ammu and Kannan have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody, Ambadi is still at large.
The police have invoked various charges under the IPC including Section 354 (assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty) against them based on a complaint lodged by the victim at Palarivattom police station.
As per the police, the three conspired and committed the crime on April 13 after asking the woman to reach near the stadium around 7.30pm. The suspects promised the victim a role in a movie to convince her. “When she reached the spot, the suspects forced her into a car, abused and groped her. They also forcibly took away her gold chain worth Rs 40,000 and Rs 20,000 in cash,” as per a statement submitted by the police in the court when Ambadi’s anticipatory bail petition came up for consideration.
Meanwhile, the suspects alleged that the woman had fabricated the story to settle scores after a financial deal turned sour. The woman owed them money, they claimed. Police officials said as per the woman’s statement, it was Ammu who convinced her to come to the spot and pushed her into the car driven by her husband Kannan, who allegedly sexually abused her while Ambadi helped and assisted the other two in committing the crime.
The three were booked in a similar case registered at the Palarivattom police station for allegedly assaulting and abusing a woman who was at Vyttila hub along with her friend the same day. Police officials said the role of a sex racket is suspected because in that case too, the woman victim had given a statement that the trio had threatened her to go with the persons suggested by them.