Kerala Boy Dies By Suicide After Police 'Torture', Child Rights Body Takes Note

An 18-year-old from Kerala's Thrissur district, who was one of two brothers accused in a blackmail case, died by suicide on 6 October. His family has accused the police of driving him to his death, and the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has registered a case on its own.

Mohammed Aslam, 18, died by suicide on October 6. He had been detained at a juvenile home after his arrest and was released on bail after four days.

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has registered a suo motu case into the matter. In a statement on Tuesday, it said Aslam's father, Noushad, had accused the Kodungallur police of implicating his son in a false case over a romantic relationship and subjecting him to physical and mental harassment.

The family of a minor girl in Thrissur district has released audio recordings they say show an extortion plot involving her private images.

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According to the complaint, the girl was allegedly lured into a relationship and her private images were obtained. The images were used to threaten her and extort 160 grams of gold and Rs 50,000 from the family. Her elder sister says the threats later reached her too, through Instagram.

Brothers Sahal and Mohammed Aslam, natives of Erisheppalam in Kerala's Kodungallur, were named as accused.

The girl's elder sister, who lives abroad, has come forward in a video statement to counter what she called a one-sided narrative spreading on social media. "We have done nothing wrong," she said, adding that the family has preserved screenshots, voice recordings and complaint receipts and will submit them in court.

According to the family, the recording they released contains demands for money, threats to make the girl's images public and discussions on getting more money from the sister abroad.

The sister also described a visit to the family home. She said one of the accused walked in, expecting the girl to open the door. When her parents answered instead, he claimed he had come to borrow an air pump and left. He filmed the visit and sent the video to the sister as a warning.

Police say the accused sold some of the gold to buy an Innova car and gave Rs 2 lakh to a friend towards a sister's wedding. The rest was spent on two iPhones, they say. A friend in Bengaluru who helped sell the gold is also under scrutiny.

Investigators examining the brothers' phones found photographs and details of other girls. Police are now trying to identify them and establish whether others were similarly targeted.