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	Three More Held in Thoppumpady Sex Racket Khaleej Times June 14, 2008 http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2008/June/ subcontinent_June490.xml§ion=subcontinent&col= TRIVANDRUM — Three persons, including a priest and a film director, were arrested in connection with the sensational Thoppumpady sex racket case, involving the sexual exploitation of a minor girl. A special police investigation team constituted on the orders of the high court attested the priest Fr Kuriakose Mangalath and a Congress worker Shibhu from Kottayam and the filmmaker Mohan Sithara from Trichur. With this the number of persons arrested in the case has gone up to 16. The court had directed the Director General of Police to constitute a special team, headed by a senior police officer with integrity and efficiency, to probe the case on a writ petition filed by Visalam, mother of the victim. The petitioner had alleged that the local police had helped the real accused to escape. Though the victim, in her statement, mentioned nearly 50 persons, the chargesheet filed by the police did not contain the name of the priest, filmmaker, politicians and police officers mentioned by her. The victim also alleged attempts by the police to change her actual date of birth in a bid to thwart rape charges against the accused. While the victim was aged below 16 on the date of occurrence of the offence, the age mentioned in the chargesheet was 17. The scandal came to light when the police raided a hotel in Mattancherry in Cochin.
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