Kerala   

Bid to scuttle probe in assault case: Venugopal

ALAPPUZHA: Union Minister of State for Power K.C. Venugopal has accused Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Director-General of Police Jacob Punnoose of attempting to hush up a case regarding the attack on a Mahila Congress worker in Haripad on April 13.

According to Mr. Venugopal, the incident, wherein the woman, Sethulakshmi, was attacked and doused with urine in a bottle, was a disgrace to the State, and a pointer to the extent to which the Communist Party of India (Marxist) could go to.

The CPI (M), he said, had repeatedly declared that it would protect the women of the State, but what took place in Alappuzha where a woman presiding officer was attacked during the October civic body elections indicated otherwise.

In the Haripad case, Inspector-General of Police R. Srilekha had visited the victim and issued directives to the police to register a case and arrest the culprits without delay. However, nothing much had happened after that, Mr. Venugopal said, adding that this indicated that the police were dancing to the tune of the Home Minister and the DGP to protect the CPI (M) activists who were the accused in the case. The delay in action was proof that there were attempts to hush up the case, he said.

Mr. Venugopal later visited Ms. Sethulakshmi and Sujatha, who was injured during the attack on the former. He was accompanied by B. Babu Prasad, MLA..

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Japanese art form enthrals audience
Holy Week begins
Journalist attacked
Detainees' families in a fix
Bid to scuttle probe in assault case: Venugopal
Migratory fish spotted in kole land
Religious rites
Harvest time
Passion Week begins

Copyright © 2011, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu