Kerala High Court seeks statement against Kurien
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 2 : Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien suffered a setback on Monday as the Kerala High Court ordered the state government to file a statement in connection to the details of cases filed by the Suryanelli gangrape victim against him before the magistrate and higher courts.
The court gave the direction while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by General Secretary of Kerala Mahila Sangam Kamala Sadanandan.
The PIL sought a direction to the state and the Director General of Police (DGP) to probe against Kurien in the wake of the allegations leveled by the rape victim against the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, reports said.
A Kerala court on Mar 2 rejected the victim's plea that Kurien should be reinvestigated in the Suryanelli gangrape case.
Rejecting the plea, the court said there were no fresh evidences that showed the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman was involved in the case.
The rape victim in her letter on Jan 29 said Kurien along with other accused in the case had raped her in the Kumily panchayat guest house in Kerala.
She also filed a police complaint against Kurien on Feb 22, reports said.
The Supreme Court however had cleared the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman in the case.
The Suryanelli rape case is concerned with a 16-year-old girl who was raped by 42 men for 40 days in 1996 in the state.