The present regular bail application pertains to Crime

No.70/2019 of Pulpally Police Station registered for offences

punishable under Sections 450, 376(2)(m), 376AB of IPC and

Sections 6 r/w.5(l), (m) and (g) of Protection of Children from

Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Initially, a single person was

arrayed as the sole accused in the above said crime. Later , in the

process of investigation, based on the subsequent additional

Section 161 statement referred to in Annexure-VI remand report,

given by the minor victim girl, the petitioner has been additionally

arrayed as accused No.3 in the instant crime.

2.

The petitioner would point out the following facts and

circumstances leading to the initial registration of crime and the

subsequent inclusion of additional accused in the said crime. The

minor victim girl in this case was aged about 11 years at the time of

the initial incidents, which are stated to have taken place in

January, 2017 and that she was staying along with the father and

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younger brother in their house and the mother of the child has

been away as she has been working in Israel as a Nurse. A maid

used to regularly help the family to take care of the children in the

absence of the mother. It appears that some time in February,

2019, based on the information conveyed to the child help line, the

Police has taken Annexure-IV First Information Statement dated

8.2.2019 from the minor victim girl, which led to the registration

of Annexure-IV FIR in the instant Crime No.70/2019 of Pulpally

Police Station for the above said offences. In Annexure-IV FIS

dated 8.2.2019, which has been taken from the child, pursuant to

the intervention of the child line, the specific case put up is that

she was sexually abused and threatened on various occasions

commencing from January 2017 upto 13.10.2018 by the sole

accused, who happens to be the son of the maid,who had access to

the house and had taken her nude photographs and threatened to

use it and on the basis of that had sexually abused her and that he

had committed rape on several occasions. The commencement

period has been pinpointed as January, 2017 and it has been

specifically stated inAnnxure-IV FIS by the minor victim girl that

the last incident of sexual abuse committed by the sole accused

was on 13.10.2018, on the 2^nd Saturday of October, 2018. Based on

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Annexure-IV FIS, the crime was registered, which led to the arrest

of the sole accused and he has been under judicial custody since

then.

3.

Further it appears that on 21.2.2019, the child help

line had again interacted with the minor victim girl, wherein she

had submitted that not only the sole accused but also two other

persons, who are the friends of the sole accused (A1), have been

subsequently arrayed as accused Nos. 2 and 3 and all the three

accused had come to her house on 28.11.2018 and that accused

Nos.1 to 3 had also committed sexual intercourse on her and that

two weeks thereafter on 14.12.2018, all the three accused including

the petitioner (A3) again come to the child's house and all of them

again had forcible sexual intercourse with her and that on

12.1.2019 again accused No.2 had forcible sexual intercourse with

her etc. It appears that this led to the child giving additional

Section 161 Statement referred to in Annexure-VI before the

Investigating Officer on 21.2.2019 based on which another person

by name Sura and the petitioner, Siju Poulose have been arrayed

as accused Nos.2 and 3 respectively. It is on the basis of this

additional 161 Statement referred to in Annexure-VI and the

report given by the Investigating Officer before jurisdictional

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Magistrate Court concerned that the petitioner has been arrested

and thereafter, remanded to judicial custody on 23.2.2019 and has

been under judicial custody since then.

4.

The submission made by Sri. Gracious Kuriakose,

learned Senior Counsel instructed by Sri. George Mathew, learned

counsel appearing for the petitio