New Delhi – Police in the southern Indian state of Kerala have arrested 49 of the 64 men accused of sexually abusing an 18-year-old girl over the past five years. The girl, who has not been identified, reportedly told investigators that she had been sexually abused and gang-raped multiple times since she was 13.

The men accused of the attacks include the girl’s childhood friend, along with neighbors and family friends, police told affiliate network CBS News. BBC News. Among the accused are at least five students from her college and former colleagues from her school, according to the Indian newspaper The News Minute.

Most of the accused are themselves either teenagers or in their early 20s The Times of India.

“Forty-nine people have been detained,” Pathanamthitta district deputy police chief Nandakumar S told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. “We have identified the remaining 14 and they will be arrested soon.”

The alleged abuse began five years ago when a neighbor allegedly harassed her and took sexually explicit photos and videos, which he then shared with others and used to blackmail the girl while he continued to abuse her.

Police told Indian media that the girl was allegedly gang-raped at least three times in the past five years.

The alleged abuse came to light last month when a team of counselors working under a government program visited her home.

“She received counseling and opened up to a psychologist, talking about the sexual abuse she has been facing since the age of 13,” N. Rajeev, head of the National Child Welfare Board, was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

The Kerala Police has deputed a team of 25 police officers to investigate the allegations.

So far, at least 18 cases related to the girl’s alleged molestation have been registered under various Indian laws — including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Crime) Act — aimed at preventing crimes against people from lower castes and tribes in India’s centuries-old social hierarchy.

The victim of mass abuse in Kerala belongs to the Dalit community, which is the lowest caste in India. Dalits have faced with widespread discrimination and abuse for many years.

Criminal cases have also been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, as most of the alleged abuse took place when the girl was a minor, Deputy Superintendent Nandakumar told the BBC’s Hindi service.

The horrific scale of the alleged abuse has grabbed national headlines in a country where an average of almost 90 rapes were reported every day in 2022, the latest year for which national figures are available. Many others are believed to have gone unreported.