Wadakkanchery rape case: Peramangalam CI suspended for humiliating victim

Kerala police Monday suspended Peramangalam circle inspector K.V. Manikandan for allegedly insulting a gang-rape victim while questioning her. Manikandan was suspended as per the order of Thrissur Range IG M.R. Ajith Kumar.Kumar conducted a preliminary probe into the allegation leveled by the victim that the police officer had asked her "indecent questions" about the crime. Manikandan is also accused of forcing the woman to change her statement. A 33-year-old woman hailing from Thrissur, who was allegedly gang raped by four men two years ago, had in a press meet revealed that CPM leader and Wadakkancherry municipal councilor P.N. Jayanthan was among those who allegedly outraged her modesty. The woman, a mother of two, had also complained about the 'insensitive and indecent' manner in which the police questioned her about the incident.Actor Bhagya Lakshmi, who was instrumental in bringing the crime to light in her Facebook post, criticized the police officer for posing such questions.

The woman said though she had earlier filed a complaint in 2015, she was 'forced' to withdraw it after the accused threatened to kill her children. Kerala police relaunched a probe into the incident. CPM suspended Jayanthan from the party and said it would probe the allegations against him.CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the party had promptly acted when the allegations were leveled."We will make sure such things which are not correct are not allowed," he told reporters here.

He also said the Thrissur District Secretary should not have revealed the victim's name. CPI(M) Politbureau member Brinda Karat said that naming the victim was a "mistake". "We are not supposed to name the victim. So it was a mistake to name the victim," she said in Delhi. Police have recorded the statements of the woman and her husband. In another related development, Wadakancherry MLA Anil Akkara complained to the DGP that the victim's statement had been leaked.

He said the phones of woman police officers who took the victim's statement should be verified. The woman had appeared before media here, alleging that she had been gang raped by four persons, including by the CPI(M) councillor, two years ago and was being harassed.