|
Women to protest Kerala sex scandal verdict
January 24, 2005
Thiruvananthapuram - Hundreds of women plan to march to the Kerala High Court
Feb 1 to protest the letting off of all but one of the 36 accused in a scandal
in which a 16-year-old girl was sexually exploited in 1996.
Communist Party of India-Marxist legislator P.K. Sreemathy will lead the
protestors to the high court in Kochi in connection with what has come to be
known as the Suryanelli sex scandal.
"This is a shocking and surprising verdict. In order to protect the rights of
Kerala women and women in the country, we will march to the high court. This
verdict is now going to help people connected with the sex mafia," Sreemathy
told reporters here Saturday.
A division bench of the Kerala High Court Thursday exonerated all but one of
the 36 accused in a case related to the alleged sexual exploitation of the girl
from Idukki district by several people in 1996.
Reacting to the verdict for the first time, the girl concerned, who is now
employed in the state government after the Nayanar administration gave her a
job, told a private TV channel, without facing the camera, that she and her
parents were shocked by the verdict and would certainly file an appeal against
it.
"We were coming back to normal life, but with the verdict none of us have
stepped out of the house. This is unfair," said the girl.
The bench consisting of Justice K.A. Abdul Gafoor and Justice R. Basanth had
ruled that the prosecution failed miserably to prove its case.
Regarding the allegation of rape, the court ruled it could not be said there
was no consent on the girl's part.
The first accused, S.S. Dharmarajan, was however sentenced to five years'
imprisonment and a fine of Rs.50,000 under Section 366A and 372 of the Indian
Penal Code on charges of procuring a minor girl and selling a minor for
prostitution.
In 1999, three years after the incident took place, the then chief minister
E.K. Nayanar had set up the state's first-ever special court to deal with the
case.
The inquiry had found that 36 people were involved and brought the culprits to
book. On Sep 6, 2000, the special court sentenced the 36 accused to rigorous
imprisonment for varying terms.
Soon after the sentence, the accused were let off on bail by the high court.
Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan urged the Oommen Chandy government to go
for an appeal against the high court verdict, saying it could weaken similar
cases in Kerala courts.
But Chandy told reporters in Kochi that the government could not function on
the basis of newspaper reports on the verdict.
"We are not going to do anything in a hurry. There are procedures in this and
there are responsible people holding government posts and we would seek their
opinion. The government would not simply sit around," said Chandy in response
to questions whether his government would go in for an appeal.
Comment on this story,
click here.
Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com. All rights reserved. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
Court
reserves verdict on Kerala sex abuse suits
11-26-2004
Files
of Kerala sexual exploitation found missing
11-23-2004
|
