Canadian teens molested in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the attack on foreign women in Fort Kochi on New Year’s Eve, two teenagers were molested in a hotel in the lake retreat of Kumarakom on Wednesday. The police have held a security guard of the hotel, accused of molesting the teenaged sisters from Canada.

The girls, aged 12 and 14, were holidaying with their parents. On Wednesday morning, when the girls went to the billiards room of the hotel, Shyju Varghese (27) tried to molest them, the police said.

The guard was stopped by his colleagues as soon as the girls raised an alarm. He was handed over to the police after the father of the girls lodged a complaint with the police.

Police said the accused, attached to a private security group, was produced before a magistrate’s court in Kottayam. He was later granted bail. The victims’ family has cut short their visit and left the hotel.