Missing girls found; youth held for sexual assault

T'puram: Two days after two minor girls went missing from Nemom, police arrested a 19-year-old youth on Monday for abducting them and for sexually assaulting one of the girls.
The arrested Manujith, 19, of Pallichal, was a daily-wage worker. He was remanded after being produced in court on charges under BNS Section 137 (2) for kidnapping and sections seven and eight of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The accused asked the girls, both aged 17, to reach Thampanoor for a movie. The youth and one of the girls were friends. The accused took them to Balaramapuram and later to his friend's house at Vellarada, where one girl was sexually assaulted.
On Sunday night, one girl escaped and reached a relative's house at Varkala. Meanwhile, Manujith came to know that Nemom police were on his lookout as a missing case was registered. Soon, he dropped the other girl at Thampanoor railway station and escaped.
Passengers who noticed the girl informed police. Soon, she was taken into custody. During questioning, she said that Manujith sexually assaulted her. The other girl also contacted her parents from the relative's house.
On their complaints, Nemom police began a search for Manujith and he was arrested from his house. TNN