The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Abetting suicide: CPI(M) panchayat member held

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Friday, Mar 16, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Abetting suicide: CPI(M) panchayat member held

Staff Reporter

Thiruvananthapuram: The Rural police on Thursday arrested a panchayat member owing allegiance to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on the charge of abetting the suicide of a 21-year-old woman. The accused was identified as Michael Aniclus, 37, representative of the Anchuthengu grama panchayat (9th ward).

Michael was arrested under section 306 of Indian Penal Code on the charge of abetting the suicide of Suma Oliver, a laboratory technician and his neighbour in Anchuthengu. Michael was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

Suma was found dead hanging in her house on March 11 night. Earlier the same day, Suma and her mother, Mary, 47, had approached the Anchuthengu police with a complaint against three of her neighbours; Michael, Leon and Robinson. Mary told the police that the three had trespassed into her house at night and attempted to molest her in front of her daughter. The police said that Mary and her neighbours were embroiled in a boundary dispute and had quarrelled with each other several times in the past.

According to the police, the accused entered Mary's house when she returned home after lodging the complaint at the Anchuthengu police station. Quoting Mary's statement, an official said that one of the accused threatened to rape Mary's daughter in front of the entire neighbourhood. Suma's father, Oliver, was at sea fishing when the incident occurred.

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