The Hindu : Kerala News : Crime Branch probe in sex scandal case mooted

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 25, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Crime Branch probe in sex scandal case mooted

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, NOV. 24. The Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) may takeover the investigation of the case relating to circumstances that led to the key witness and victim in the Kozhikode ice-cream parlour sex case, Rejina, retracting her statements against the Industries Minister, P. K. Kunhalikutty.

The top brass of the police here have recommended to the Director General of Police (DGP), P. K. Hormese Tharakan, that the case be handed over to the CB since it required sustained investigations and as the local police had to concentrate on the law and order problems in Kozhikode city.

The recommendation was in the wake of the order issued by the Kozhikode Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court (IV) on Saturday that the police register a case based on the complaint filed by V. A. Beena, Kozhikode district secretary of the CPI (ML)-affiliated Janadipatya Vanitha Sangatana.

Orders soon

Highly -placed sources told The Hindu here today that orders on the Crime Branch investigation would be issued within a couple of days. A case based on the complaint had already been registered at the Nadakkavu police station on Tuesday. The Magistrate, P. Sasidharan, had directed the police under 156 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC), to register a case.

Based on the complaint, the case has been registered under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender), Section 202 (intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform), Section 214 (offering gift for restoration of property in consideration of screening offender), and Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy), of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Relative's role

The petitioner said in her complaint that cases be taken up against Mr. Kunhalikutty's relative, K. A. Rauf and his assistant, P. O. Sherif, for allegedly persuading Rejina to retract her statements against Mr. Kunhalikutty.

Rauf is Mr. Kunhalikutty's co-brother, residing at Jayanti Nagar Colony in Kozhikode while Sherif hails from Malappuram district.

During the investigation of the ice-cream parlour case in 1997, Rejina had stated before the State Women's Commission and the police that Mr. Kunhalikutty had sexually exploited her. Later she retracted her statements before the Kunnamangalam First Class Magistrate's Court. Last month she again came up with the allegations before television channels that Rauf and Sherif had offered huge sums of money to retract her statements in court.

Witnesses

The petitioner had also sought to examine Rejina's mother Fathima, her brother Ayub, the Women's Commission former chairperson Sugatha Kumari, the CPI(M) leader Meenakshi Thampan, the Anweshi Women's Counselling president, K. Ajitha, the former Kozhikode City Police Commissioner, Neera Rawat, the Kunnamangalam First Class Magistrate, the former Advocate General M. K. Damodaran, the former Director General of Prosecutions, Kallada Sukumaran, the Asianet reporter, V.M. Deepa, the India Vision reporter, K. P. Bashir, as witnesses in the case.

Meanwhile, the North Zone Inspector General of Police, Arvind Ranjan, is perusing the statements made by Rejina recently against Mr. Kunhalikutty and the case diaries in the ice-cream parlour case to see whether she had made any new disclosures other than what she had given as witnesses before the investigating officers in September 1997.

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