A 12-year-old girl was brutally raped by 30 men at Chelari, in Malappuram district of Kerala. The girl, who is reported to be a Class 7 student, has alleged 30 men of raping her for over 2 years. Tirurangadi Police has arrested three people including the girl's father in connection with the rape case. The accused have been booked under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

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"The girl's father has been arrested on charges of abetment to the crime and the two other accused identified as Asraf and Shyju have been charged with sexually abusing the child," police had said.

School's awareness saves the girl

The shocking incident came to light while the 12-year-old was being counseled in school. The teachers observed that the girl had been frequently missing her classes and remained mentally disturbed. Post observing the behavious of the child, the school authorities informed the childline authorities. The victim further revealed the details of her assault when she was counseled by the childline volunteers. The victim was then produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Malappuram on Saturday and has since been moved into a Children's Welfare home in Malappuram.

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Increase in crime against Children

According to a Child Rights and You (CRY) report, In the year 2015 and 2016, Crime against children in India increased by a sharp 11% as freshly released NCRB data suggests. Going by absolute numbers, it’s an increase of 12,786 reported crimes against children across the country including cases of rape and molestation. The total number of crimes against children reported in 2016 is 1,06,958, while 94,172 crimes were recorded in 2015.

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