11 held for Kerala school girls' rape

Thiruvananthapuram: Eleven people, most of them school students, were taken into police custody following complaints of two schoolgirls being raped in Pathanamthitta district, a Kerala minister said on Saturday.

The incident came to light a few days ago after complaints from the victims and the school authorities.

Speaking to IANS, State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said police acted promptly and took those responsible for the incident into custody.

"Eleven of them have been picked up. Of this, most of them are Class XI students and others are men," said Chennithala.

"What police have so far found out is that the incident began from a missed call and it reached to this most unfortunate episode," Chennithala added.

The two girls, studying in Class 9 and 10 are believed to have been forcibly taken away after being threatened. The incident occurred first on last Friday and the next day.

Police swung into action after complaint. The girls was produced before a magistrate who took their statements and after providing medical attention they were moved to a safe place.

Police have started questioning the 11 people to find out if there were more people involved in it.