An 18-year-old woman from India has bravely come forward to accuse 64 men of sexually abusing her over a five-year period.
Police have arrested 28 people in connection with the horrific campaign of abuse in the state of Kerala, which is said to date back to when the victim was just 13 years old.
The authorities said BBC that the accused are between the ages of 17 and 47, including neighbors of the victim, sports teachers and friends of his father.
The victim was allegedly sexually abused by a neighbor when she was 13 years old, who then shared recorded videos of the abuse with other people who continued to abuse her.
Authorities told the station she had been gang-raped three times in the past five years, after the victim sought help and spoke to psychologists.
The ordeal came to light when the victim, a district athlete, met volunteers from the Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society, which helps rural women.
The allegations were conveyed to the Child Welfare Committee. A lawyer for the group said the sports camps the young athlete attended could have facilitated the abuse.
The teen’s family was unaware of the alleged abuse, a CWC official said. local media.
Protesters denounce violence against women during a march in Kolkata on August 14, 2024.
The victim was recently directed to a psychologist who has been trying to “determine the credibility of her allegations” as police continue their investigation.
They say he never spoke to his mother about the alleged abuse.
The CWC has since moved her to a shelter for her protection while the investigation continues.
Authorities said they checked the phone of the girl’s father, to which they understand she had access.
On the device they say they have found the names of some of the men accused of abusing the victim, who have not been identified.
Police are now using the phone to track the accused, with dozens of those accused of heinous crimes still to be arrested.
“Once the investigation progresses, chances of more people being involved cannot be ruled out,” said lawyer N Rajeev, who heads the Pathanamthitta Child Welfare Committee. indian express.
A team of 25 people has been formed to carry out the investigation.
Those already detained were being held under various sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the outlet reports.
The law exists to protect lower caste and tribal people in India from discrimination crimes.
The victim has been identified as a Dalit, a member of an Indian caste at the bottom of the social hierarchy, often subject to discrimination despite legal protections.
The story has moved the Indian public, who are already very aware of the problem of violence against women.
Last week, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) prosecuted the parents of two girls who are believed to have taken their own lives after allegedly being subjected to abuse.

A boy photographed during a vigil condemning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a government-run hospital in Kolkata, on a street in Mumbai, India, on August 14.
The parents in Palakkad were accused of complicity in sexual abuse and suicide, a charge sheet stated that they were aware of the abuse suffered by the girls but did nothing to report it to the police.
The girls, aged 9 and 13, were found dead by hanging in their home in 2017 after allegedly being subjected to abuse for several months by five people, including another child.
Four people, including two relatives, were acquitted in 2019 because the court ruled that there was no scientific evidence linking them to the crimes.
Two of the four later committed suicide, Indian Express information.
An investigation found that the defendant had easy access to the family home.