Wayanad Special Mobile squad arrested two persons on Wednesday in connection with sexual abuse of two tribal minor girls under the Mananthavady police station limit on July 16.
Those arrested were identified as P. Riju, 32, of Thondiyil house, Valayam and Amal, 26, of Kootiyerichalil house at Mullambath near Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode district.
The girls, aged 17 and 14, staying along with their parents on an estate in the district, were taken from their home to Ooty by the accused on July 16 after offering them mobile phones, K.P. Kuberan Namboodiri, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Mobile Squad, Wayanad, told The Hindu.
The two girls were close relatives and Riju, the main accused, lured the elder girl, a Plus One student, through mobile phone calls that started with a missed call on June 24, Mr. Namboodiri, who is the investigating officer, said.
Later, a friend of the main accused came into contact with the younger girl. They coaxed the children to go with them by offering costly mobile phones. On July 16, the accused took the girls in a car to Ooty where they allegedly raped the elder girl in a hotel room. Though the second accused tried to sexually abuse the younger girl, a seventh standard student, she resisted.
The next day, the accused took the girls to Gudalur from where they were sent back home on a bus. The accused gave the girls ₹500 each. The issue came to light when the estate manager brought it to the attention of the police after the parents told him about the incident, Mr. Namboodiri said.
The accused were absconding. After the incident, they stayed in Kozhikode, Kannur and Bangaluru. However, they surrendered before the special squad when they understood that they would be nabbed soon, he said.
The accused were charged under various Sections of the IPC, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Atrocities Act, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Later, the duo were produced before the POCSO Court here and they were remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.