Thiruvananthapuram: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the alleged sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh at spas in Kovalam arrested one more accused from Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, taking the total number of arrests in the case to nine.Jimilin, 24, a native of Udayamarthandam in Kanyakumari district, was apprehended from the Karungal area of Kanyakumari on Tuesday night. Kovalam circle inspector Sreekumar V M and other senior officers made the arrest. He was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.During the investigation, the minor survivor identified Jimilin after being shown his photograph, while spa owner Sajith also identified him, police sources said.The probe found that Jimilin had visited the spa around 20 times over the past month, usually accompanied by two friends. Police said only Jimilin was allegedly involved in assaulting the girl.As a regular customer, Jimilin allegedly received a Rs 500 discount at the spa. Instead of recording his name, the spa register reportedly marked him as ‘regular’, police said.Police sources said he was arrested based on digital evidence, including GPay transaction records, entries in registers at the spas and tower location details. The SIT has been examining digital and documentary evidence to establish the movements of the accused and their alleged links to the establishments where the girl was taken.Meanwhile, police are expected to take the girl’s aunt, the first accused in the case, into custody for further questioning on Thursday. Sajith, who is presently in police custody, will be produced before the court and sent back to jail after the completion of his custody period.Police said the investigation revealed that other spa owners were allegedly involved in the girl’s sexual exploitation. Further investigation is under way to identify and apprehend others involved.A medical board has been constituted to record the survivor’s detailed statement. Police said her statement and other evidence collected during the probe would be crucial in identifying additional accused and establishing the sequence of events.
About The Author
