The incident took place on 5 September 2020, when the 19-year-old survivor was being transported from Adoor to a Covid care centre in Pandalam.
Published Apr 11, 2025 | 1:13 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 11, 2025 | 1:13 PM
The convict Noufal.
Synopsis: A Kerala court sentenced a man to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1.08 lakh for sexually assaulting a Covid-19-positive woman in an ambulance in 2020. The sessions court found him guilty nearly five years after the shocking case that shook Kerala during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pathanamthitta Principal Sessions Court in Kerala, on Friday, 11 April, sentenced Noufal, a native of Panakkachira House in Kayamkulam to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1.08 lakh for sexually assaulting a Covid-19 positive woman in an ambulance in 2020.
The incident took place during the pandemic when the victim was being transported to a treatment centre. The court found Noufal guilty of rape, kidnapping, and offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on Thursday.
Noufal has already spent four-and-a-half years in pre-trial detention. He is also facing charges in an attempted murder case.
The sessions court found him guilty nearly five years after the shocking case that shook Kerala during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The incident took place on 5 September 2020, when the 19-year-old survivor was being transported from Adoor to a Covid care centre in Pandalam.
After dropping off another patient at Kozhencherry — who was supposed to be dropped off before the survivor — Noufal diverted the vehicle to an isolated ground in Aranmula and sexually assaulted the woman.
He later apologised to her while driving — an exchange the survivor recorded on her phone.
On reaching the Covid care centre, the survivor confided in health officials, who alerted the police. Noufal, a native of Kayamkulam, was arrested the same day.
The court found him guilty under Sections 366, 376, and 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 5A of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The prosecution was led by Special Public Prosecutor T Harikrishnan.
Police investigations revealed the act was pre-planned, and Noufal had a history of criminal involvement, including a previous case of attempted culpable homicide.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Dileep V Kumar.)
