Police catch man suspected of abducting, sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl in Kerala

A man suspected of abducting and sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl and then abandoning her in a paddy field in the Aluva area of central Kerala on Thursday was nabbed by police several hours after the incident.

Krystal Raj (27) was caught by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police from the Marthanda Verma bridge near Aluva this evening where he was hiding and consuming alcohol.

On seeing the officers, the suspect attempted to escape by jumping into the river under the bridge and swimming away, but was caught with the help of workers present there and pulled out of the water, police said.

Visuals aired by news channels showed the suspect being captured by the police with the help of the people living in the area and being taken away from the spot.

He is presently in police custody and being interrogated by the SIT, police said.

Raj, who hailed from Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district, was a suspect in several criminal cases.

It said that the man was caught after a wide dragnet in the rural area of Ernakulam, especially around Aluva.

The people told the media that the police have been in the area in plainclothes ever since the incident, looking for the perpetrator.

''He was drinking under the bridge and, on seeing the police, jumped into the water to escape. But police and other persons stopped him from escaping and pulled him out of the water,'' one of the locals said.

The suspect appeared drunk, he added.

The eight-year-old child whom the accused allegedly sexually assaulted was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery and her condition is said to be stable.

The girl underwent surgery for injuries suffered in the brutal incident, police added.

The suspect allegedly abducted the girl from outside her home in Aluva here while she was sleeping.