Suryanelli case: Court rejects victim's plea against Kurien

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 2: A court in the Idukki district of Kerala has rejected the

rape victim's plea to register a case against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien for sexually abusing her.

She has repeatedly stated that the Congress leader was among the 40 men who exploited her for 42 days back in 1996. At that time, she was still a minor.

On Saturday, she urged the court in Peerumed to order a fresh probe so that Kurien's involvement in the sex scandal can be established. The court observed that the police had in the past enquired into the allegations against Kurien and cleared him.

T Asif Ali, Director General of Prosecution in the state, recently submitted a report that no new evidence incriminating the Congress leader has been unearthed. The court therefore ruled out a reinvestigation into the case.

However, Kurien cannot breathe easy as the victim has already announced that she will file an appeal in the Kerala High Court. Incidentally, as many as 25 accused in the case have sought bail and their applications are to be taken up by the high court on Sunday.

The trial court had convicted a total of 35 persons but a two-judge division bench of the high court acquitted all but one of them in 2005. Only a lawyer, the third accused, was found guilty of procuring a minor girl and selling her for purposes of prostitution.

The advocate SS Dharmarajan jumped parole in 2005 and went underground. Last month, he came back into the spotlight when he told a Malayalam news channel that Kurien was involved in the case.

In the interview to Mathrubhumi, Dharmarajan disclosed that the Congress leader travelled with him in his white Ambassador car from Vandiperiyar to the Kumily guest house wherein the victim had been lodged on the evening of Feb 19, 1996.

The lawyer said that Kurien spent nearly half an hour with the victim at the guest house. Following Dharmarajan's revelation, the Left parties demanded Kurien's resignation. CPI-M and CPI stressed that it would not be proper for him to be in the chair during the discussion on the anti-rape bill in the Rajya Sabha.

OneIndia News