Kerala - Kozhikode   

Gang-rape case: all accused acquitted

Staff Reporter

`UDF must apologise for making it a poll issue'

KOZHIKODE: The 12 accused in the Theruvamparambu gang-rape case were acquitted by District Additional Sessions Fast Track (First) Judge M.K. Kuttikrishnan on Monday.

They are members of the Communist Part of India-Marxist (CPI-M) or its youth wing, Democratic Youth Federation of India.

In his order, the judge said the prosecution had not been able to prove the charge of gang rape. However, six of the accused were sentenced to two years imprisonment and were imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 each on the charge of attacking a house and destroying household utensils.

The prosecution case was that on January 15, 2001, the house of Nabeesa, wife of Mohammed of Theruvamparabu, was attacked and she and her seven-year-old daughter were gang-raped.

The judge ordered that from the fines paid by the accused, Rs. 25,000 be given to Ms. Nabeesa. The case had figured prominently in the election campaign of the United Democratic Front for the 2001 Assembly elections.

One of the accused, Eenthullathil Veertil Binu, was murdered later allegedly as a sequel to case.

CPI(M) district secretary T.P. Ramakrishnan and Elamaram Kareem, party State Committee member, told presspersons here on Tuesday that the UDF should tender a public apology for using the case in its election campaign.

A National Development Front (NDF) team had hacked to death Binu, who was the first accused in the case.

The false campaign provided the background to this heinous murder. The UDF could not shirk its responsibility for causing the murder, they said.

Alleging that the case had been looked after by the NDF, they said the organisation was using her family to further its communal agenda.

The Indian Union Muslim League was now trying to use it to foment trouble, as the Assembly elections was fast approaching. There were concerted efforts to create trouble in different parts of the district. What was unfortunate was that the NDF could not be separated from the League, they said.

According to them, police inaction is evident in the investigations into the destruction of a boat in an explosion in Beypore, seizure of gelignite sticks from the cloakroom of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus station here and a `torch bomb' in Nadapuram.

The police should make consistent efforts to bring `terrorists' behind these incidents to book.

`Conspiracy'

They alleged that Ms. Nabeesa had not mentioned about rape in the first complaint she had given to the police. It was added a month later as a result of a conspiracy by the UDF leadership, they added.

Asked about the selection of candidates of the party from the district in the coming Assembly elections, they said that all the procedures in this regard had been completed.

There had been no talks with other constituents if the Left Democratic Front on seat-sharing, they said in reply to another query.

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