In 2017, a 13-year-old girl was raped for three months by a friend of her father’s in Kollam, Kerala. The accused, 38-year-old Sunil Kumar Bhadran, was a native who had moved to Saudi Arabia and had only come to India on vacation.
Once the victim reported the incident to family and police, the accused fled to Saudi. Soon after, the victim committed suicide, as did her uncle who had first introduced the accused to the family.
However, a determined young IPS officer had ensured that justice will be delivered. Despite an Interpol notice being issued for Bhadran in 2017, nothing much had moved. However, newly appointed Kollam Police Commissioner Merin Joseph who assumed the position in June this year, moved with alacrity and speed.
As per a report in News Minute, Merin and her team landed in Riyadh and with the help of Interpol, managed to nab the accused. Ever since Merin took the Commissioner’s position, she has been focusing on clearing pending cases, especially those involving women and children.
As per the commissioner, Kollam Police’s International Investigation Agency was constantly following-up with the Saudi authorities. As per the report in TNM, Saudi authorities already had him in custody.
Merin need not have gone herself but she accompanied her team for the extradition of Bhadran, who became the first man in Saudi to be arrested for a crime committed in India.
Merin, one of the youngest IPS officers in Kerala and a vocal proponent of women’s rights, earned respect and praise on social media for her determined execution of the investigation. Some even referred to her as the ‘real Singham’.