SEXUAL ASSAULT

Under pressure, Kerala CM orders fresh probe into 2014 rape case

rape-protest-delhi-ap Representative image | AP

A two-year-old rape case in Wadakancherry town of Kerala on Sunday got a new momentum after a police probe team took statement of the 34-year-old victim here.

The victim has by now publicly named, amongst others, two CPI-M leaders, including Municipal Councillor P.N. Jayanthan, who has denied of doing such a thing and has admitted that the two others had financial dealings.

The 2014 case became public on Thursday when the woman along with her husband and two women activists narrated the incident to the media in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Following this, the CPI-M state government of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was forced to order a fresh probe into the case as pressure mounted from the Congress party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the media.

The Chief Minister is also in the dock as he was one of the first persons to be informed of the rape, when the victim in August this year wrote to him about the sexual attack on her.

On Sunday, Wadakancherry legislator Anil Akkara of the Congress told reporters that barring the two women police officersm all others in the probe team were known sympathisers of the CPI-M, and hence the case will not reach its logical conclusion.

"Barring the two women IPS officials, all the rest were cleared by the party officials in Thrissur, and hence if the DGP (Director General of Police) is serious in getting to the bottom of the truth in the case, such officials should be removed from the probe team," said Akkara.

The case has rocked the CPI-M in general and particularly the party unit in Thrissur.

On Sunday, the case was the centre of discussion at the party state secretariat meeting held here in the state capital.

Former assembly speaker and senior CPI-M leader K. Radhakrishnan, known for his pleasing manners and soft nature, took a beating for naming the victim in an interaction with the media last week.

When the media pointed out to him that it was wrong to name the victim, he shot back and said if Jayanthan can be named, then the details of the victim can also be revealed.

The National Commission for Women has served a show cause notice to the former speaker and the police have launched a preliminary probe into it following a few complaints.

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Topics : #rape | #Kerala

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