The Hindu : Kerala News : Kunhalikutty sought help, says Meenakshi Thampan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 03, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Kunhalikutty sought help, says Meenakshi Thampan

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE, FEB. 2. The Communist Party of India leader Meenakshi Thampan has said that the former Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty requested her twice to wind up proceedings of a Legislative Committee inquiring into the ice-cream parlour sex racket case in 1997-98 when she was its chairperson.

Deposing before the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court here today, Ms. Thampan said Mr. Kunhalikutty, who is now the general secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League State unit, had contacted her through an emissary twice in this regard and called her to the Assembly Complex.

He had requested her not to go ahead with the proceedings and ensure that his name did not figure in the report of the Legislative Committee on Welfare of Women and Children.

The panel had initiated an inquiry based on a complaint by the Anweshi Women's Counselling Centre president, K. Ajitha, and the Mahila Sangham district unit president, K.P. Vasantham, that the police were not investigating the case properly, she said.

During the proceedings of the committee, the Special Investigation Team, led by the City Police Commissioner, Neera Rawat, was asked why Mr. Kunhalikutty had not been included as accused in the case. Ms. Rawat replied that since the latter was politically and financially powerful, it was impossible to name him unless there was clinching evidence.

Ms. Thampan said the committee had knew that the departments of General Administration and Treasury had refused to cooperate with the police investigations in furnishing details of travel bills and related documents of official programmes of Mr. Kunhalikutty when he was Minister for Industries.

Other evidences, including those given by the key witness and victim in the sex racket case, Rejina, could not be collected by the panel as its tenure ended in August 1998. The new panel, also headed by her, was not able to complete the inquiry, Ms. Thampan said.

Evidence gathering

The deposition, before the Magistrate P. Sasidharan, was in connection with the December 8 orders of the court to directly collect evidence of witnesses after it took cognisance of a complaint seeking naming of Mr. Kunhalikutty as accused in the case. The Magistrate issued the orders under Section 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the basis of a complaint by the social activist P.J. Sebastian.

In his petition, Mr. Sebastian said Rejina had disclosed before the media on October 28 that Mr. Kunhalikutty had sexually exploited her thrice in Kozhikode, Shoranur and Thiruvananthapuram when she was a minor. It was also alleged that Mr. Kunhalikutty used his political clout and money power to destroy evidence against him and the police had failed to name him as an accused in the sex racket case.

The court will collect evidence from Ms. Ajitha on February 23. It had gathered evidences from V.M. Deepa and M.P. Basheer, correspondents of Asianet and Indiavision television channels, respectively. Videotapes containing the statement of Ms. Rejina had also been produced in the court.

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