Kerala: Two held in Kalamassery gang rape case, absconding woman among suspects
Kochi, Oct 5 (IANS) Two persons have been taken into custody in connection with the alleged gang rape of a young woman in Kalamassery in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, while police are on the lookout for two others, including a woman, Kochi City Police Commissioner S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said on Monday.
The Commissioner said all aspects of the case were being investigated and that police were looking for the remaining accused.
One of those in custody is suspected of links with several spas operating in Kochi.
The woman had allegedly been drugged and sexually assaulted after being lured to a lodge at Edappally near here, hours after she was interviewed for a job in a spa.
Police said she had come across an advertisement on OLX seeking a manager for a spa.
She attended a personal interview on September 2.
Later that evening, a woman allegedly contacted her and asked her to come to a lodge at Edappally.
An Uber taxi was reportedly arranged for her to reach the lodge.
According to the police investigation, the woman was offered juice after reaching the lodge.
She allegedly became unconscious after consuming it and was subsequently gang-raped.
Police suspect that the victim was kept at the lodge for a day.
She was allegedly given drugs and alcohol and subjected to repeated sexual assault during this period.
The alleged gang rape took place on September 2 and 3.
The victim, who was living with her husband in Kochi, is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Police said a woman was also among those who allegedly sexually assaulted the victim.
Two persons have been arrested so far, while two more, including the woman, are yet to be apprehended.
Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the job advertisement, the role of the spa connections of one of the accused and the sequence of events leading to the woman being taken to the lodge.
The police are also probing whether others were involved in the crime and whether similar incidents had taken place earlier.
–IANS
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