Female college student drugged and raped in Kerala, police launch manhunt for accused

A female college student was allegedly drugged and raped before being abandoned in a mountain pass in Kozhikode district of Kerala, police said on Friday.

The incident was reported from Thamarassery in the northern district of the state on May 30, and an accused in the case has been identified, they added.

Police said a detailed investigation has been launched after recording the victim's statement. They said the accused would be nabbed soon and the investigation is also looking into whether more people are involved in the incident.

The woman, a first-year graduate student, was allegedly abandoned in a curve of the Thamarassery churam (mountain pass) that connects the realms of Wayanad to Kozhikode after being drugged and raped, they said.

According to the police, the woman, who was staying as a paying guest near her college under the Thamarassery police station limit, had left for her home on May 30.

When she did not reach home, the family members filed a missing complaint with the police.

As the investigation was in progress, the woman contacted her family members, and she was rescued.