| The Main Page | Suryanelli sex case accuser's wrist choppedCochin - 12 March 2002 A three-member gang attacked and grievously injured Jacob Stephen, an accused in the Suriyanelli sex case and the Kottayam district president of the agricultural rural development bank, at his residence at nearby Aluva early on Tuesday morning. Stephen's right wrist was hacked in the attack and he has been rushed to the specialists hospital in Kochi, police sources said. The three-member gang had visited Stephen's house on Monday night and since he was away at that time, called on him on Tuesday morning. They asked him to come out of the house, stating that they wanted to give him a letter. When Stephen stretched out his right arm to collect the letter, his wrist was hacked. The attackers escaped soon after. Stephen was earlier a member of the Kottayam District Panchayat and Kottayam DCC Secretary. He was one of 35 accused and convicted. All got various sentences ranging from four to 11 years. The incident leading to the crime occurred on January 16, 1996, when the victim, an 8th standard student in Nallathanni, was abducted by bus conductor Raju. She was subsequently kept in illegal custody in places like Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kumali, Palakkad, Vanimel, Kambam, Theni, Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram, Kuravilangad, Aluva and Muvattupuzha, and subjected to sexual harassment up to February 16. The girl was set free in Idukki after 42 days in custody. The name of former Union minister and Congress (I) leader Prof P.J. Kurian did not not figure in the chargesheet, though the girl had recognized his picture in a copy of Mathrubhumi newspaper. In May 1999, the Peerumade first class judicial magistrate court had issued a direction to file a chargesheet against Prof Kurian on the basis of a private complaint filed by the victim, but using influence at the Centre, Kurian managed to get an injunction from the Supreme Court against this indictment. Congress leaders in the state including "Mr Clean" Antony took a covering-up stand in the case.
Keralaforum Comments: We do not support the violence. But questions remain how a person convicted of a serious crime and sentenced for 11 years RI and got out on bail, is appointed as the President of the Cooperative Bank by the so called clean Govt of AK Antony! Is it a gratitude for covering up the former Union Minister and Congress MP P.J.Kurian? Mr Stephen has only appealed against the verdict, he has not been acquitted. Congress-CPM Role in the Rape ScandalWhile several of the convicted including Jacob Stpehen are active Congress leaders in Kottayam. Union Minister PJ Kurian escaped indictment only because of his influence and the backboneless attitude of the CPM! Marxists who came to power using this case, took a back seat in catching the Congress leader (Most likely CPM leaders would have taken a big purse from the Congress counterparts for not following up the case politically!) Here is the whole story (with links) of Congress Minister PJ Kurians involvment in the Rape. 35 found guilty in Kottayam sex scandal: PTI A special court at Kottayam has found 35 accused, including three women, guilty, while acquitting four others in the sensational Suryanelli sex scandal case. Convicting them under Indian Penal Code sections 365 (kidnapping with intent to confine someone), 376 g (gang rape) and 120-B (conspiracy), special judge M Sasidharan Nambiar remanded the accused to custody till September 6, when the judgement will be delivered. The women convicted are Vilasini, Mary and Usha, while Jacob Mathew, Joshi Mathew, Ajay Kumar and Mathew have been acquitted. The incident leading to the crime occurred on January 16, 1996. The girl was subjected to sexual harassment up to February 16 and set free in Idukki after 42 days. There were originally 42 accused in the case. Of these, one is dead and two are absconding. Proceedings, which started in camera on November 16, 1998 ended last month. Special court to try Suryanelli sex case Kerala Chief Minister E K Nayanar today said his government had taken all steps to constitute a special court to try cases relating to the Suryanelli sex scandal of 1996. He told newsmen after a cabinet meeting that the special court would be constituted on getting the high court's clearance. Referring to the direction of a first class judicial magistrate court to chargesheet Congress leader Prof P J Kurian in connection with the case, Nayanar said the government had nothing to do with it as the direction was on the basis of a private complaint filed by the alleged victim. He accused KPPC President Thennala Balakrishna Pillai and other Congress leaders of trying to defend Prof Kurian despite a court having found that a prima facie case existed against him. The action of the Congress leaders amounted to contempt of court, he added. UNI P J Kurien found prima facie guilty in sex case D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram The sensational Suryanelli sex scandal, which was a major campaign point in the 1996 Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Kerala, has staged a comeback in the run up to the mid-term election with a court in Idukki district finding Congress chief whip in the dissolved Lok Sabha and former Union minister Prof P J Kurien prima facie guilty in the case. The senior Congress leader, who was exonerated thrice by the state police following their investigations, has been asked by the Peermedu Judicial First Class Magistrate to appear before the court on June 7 while disposing of a private complaint filed by the 15-year-old victim. The girl had alleged that Prof Kurien, who was then a minister in the Narasimha Rao cabinet, had sexually abused her at the Kumily rest-house on February 19, 1996. Though she could not recognise him then, later she identified him from a picture published in one of the local dailies on March 26, 1996 and submitted a petition to the then chief minister A K Antony. Deputy inspector general of police V Rajivan, appointed by the government to probe the charge, could not find any evidence against the former minister and declared him innocent. Though Kurien won the Mavelikkara Lok Sabha seat comfortably in the ensuing election, the CPI-M led government, which came to power in the state a short time later, ordered a high level investigation by a special team led by DIG Siby Mathews. This team also could not substantiate the charge levelled by the victim, especially since his itinerary conflicted with the date, time and place mentioned in the petition. The team came to the conclusion that it was near impossible for Prof Kurien to be with the girl at Kumily during the time mentioned by her. Later another police inquiry was also ordered on the basis of an anonymous letter received by the Peermedu court. The probe conducted by the Idukki superintendent of police also came to the same conclusion. Following this, the victim approached the court with the private complaint. The magistrate after examining the victim, her parents and eight witnesses formed the opinion that the Congress leader can be made an accused in the case. The main case filed before the Thodupuzha court had 42 accused. The 15-year-old girl, who was studying at Little Flower Convent at Munnar, was abducted from the hostel on January 16 and returned after 40 days of sexual abuse by different persons at different places across the state. The crime branch, which investigated the case, has arrested 40 of the 42 accused. Several Congress leaders and prominent citizens figure in the list of the accused. The Peermedu court's verdict has come as relief, however small, to the girl, who has been agonisingly waiting for justice for the past three years. Though the Kerala government had announced its decision to set up a special court for the speedy trial of the case as early as December 1996, it is yet to materialise. The girl, protected by two women constables and an armed male constable, has been confined to her house. Sex scandals have been haunting the Congress-led United Democratic Front since 1996. The Kozhikode sex scandal was a major cup of woe for the UDF in the 1998 election with allegations that P K Kunhalikutty, a top leader of the Indian Union Muslim League, one of its constituents, was involved in the racket doing the rounds during the campaign. Though the police have given a clean chit to the leader, who is a former minister, various women's organisations in the state are pursuing legal and other options for implicating him in the case. Stree Vedi leader K Ajitha, a former Naxalite, has planned to launch an indefinite hunger strike for his arrest if the courts dismissed her plea.
Sunday, May 9, 1999 Kurien found prima facie guilty in sex scandal case EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOCHI, MAY 8: The Peermedu Judicial First Class Magistrate Court yesterday found Congress leader and former Union minister P J Kurien prima facie guilty in the Suryanelli sex scandal case. Judicial first class magistrate G Girish, while giving his verdict after the hearing on a private complaint lodged by the victim of the scandal, said Kurien could be implicated in the case. The court has asked Kurien to appear before it on June 7 next. Kurien, who represented Mavelikkara constituency in Kerala in the dissolved 12th Lok Sabha, was the Chief Whip of the Congress. In her complaint, the girl from Suryanelli had alleged that Kurien had sexually harassed her at the Kumily panchayat rest house on February 19, 1996. Though she did not recognise him then, later she identified him from a photograph published in the Mathrubhumi on March 26, 1996. On March 28, the girl's father submitted a petition to the then chief minister A K Antony, with a submission by the victim that she had identified that one of theassailants was Kurien, who was called `Baaji' in the deposition. The latest in the series of unsuccessful probes against Kurien was the one by the Idukki SP on the basis of an anonymous letter received by the Peermedu court. This also ended up in the exoneration of Kurien. Following this, the girl and her family lodged the private complaint in the Peermedu court with Kurien as the prime accused. The scandal, which erupted at the fag end of the Antony Government, was a major campaign point for the LDF during the 1996 general elections. Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. Kurien found prima facie guilty in sex scandal case EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOCHI, MAY 8: The Peermedu Judicial First Class Magistrate Court yesterday found Congress leader and former Union minister P J Kurien prima facie guilty in the Suryanelli sex scandal case. Judicial first class magistrate G Girish, while giving his verdict after the hearing on a private complaint lodged by the victim of the scandal, said Kurien could be implicated in the case. The court has asked Kurien to appear before it on June 7 next. Kurien, who represented Mavelikkara constituency in Kerala in the dissolved 12th Lok Sabha, was the Chief Whip of the Congress. In her complaint, the girl from Suryanelli had alleged that Kurien had sexually harassed her at the Kumily panchayat rest house on February 19, 1996. Though she did not recognise him then, later she identified him from a photograph published in the Mathrubhumi on March 26, 1996. On March 28, the girl's father submitted a petition to the then chief minister A K Antony, with a submission by the victim that she had identified that one of theassailants was Kurien, who was called `Baaji' in the deposition. The latest in the series of unsuccessful probes against Kurien was the one by the Idukki SP on the basis of an anonymous letter received by the Peermedu court. This also ended up in the exoneration of Kurien. Following this, the girl and her family lodged the private complaint in the Peermedu court with Kurien as the prime accused. The scandal, which erupted at the fag end of the Antony Government, was a major campaign point for the LDF during the 1996 general elections. Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd. Constituency/ Idukki Miasma of sex scandal confronts P J Kurien's campaign in Idukki Joseph Alexander in Idukki, Kerala Professor P J Kurien, the former Union minister and Congress chief whip in the dissolved Lok Sabha, is far from assured of victory in this traditional Congress bastion. One of party president Sonia Gandhi's close aides, the professor is waging a battle for survival with the Congress fortress showing signs of cracks, and the ghost of the infamous Suryanelli sex scandal haunting him. This hilly backward constituency has stood firmly behind the Congress since 1977, and Professor Kurien was elected from here in 1984 by 130,624 votes. But this factor does not seem to be in play this time around. Idukki goes to the polls on Saturday, September 11, in the second phase. Even as the senior Congress leader is accused of fleeing Mavelikkara where he narrowly edged out his rival by just 1,000 votes in 1998, his rival Francis George of the Kerala Congress (Joseph), a partner of the Marxist-led Left Democratic Front, is riding on the crest of a sympathy wave as he approaches the voters for the third consecutive time. He contested the 1996 and 1998 polls, unsuccessfully. Professor Kurien says he left Idukki in 1989 after the party leadership asked him to move to Mavelikkara. He returns now after sitting MP P C Chacko was shifted to Kottayam as a consequence of Congress strongman K Karunakaran's shift from Thiruvananthapuram to Mukundapuram. Whether the voters give him another chance or not, his main opponent, Francis George, a bank officer from Moovattupuzha, is confident he will be third time lucky. The son of K M George, the founder of the Kerala Congress, he entered the fray in 1996 as a novice. In a terrain utterly unfriendly to the Left parties, he made an impact by reducing Congress winner A C Jose's margin to 30,140 votes that year. Again, in 1998, he lost to Chacko, by just 6,380 votes. It is from this steep cut in the victory margin that the LDF draws its aspiration from, and the UDF combine, its fears. But history will not prop up the Left spirit. The largest constituency in the state -- covering the assembly segments of Devicolam, Idukki, Peermedu, Thodupuzha and Udumbanchola of Idukki district and Pathanamthitta and Ranni of Pathanamathitta district -- has unfailingly returned Congress-led forces. It elected then Union minister C M Stephen (Congress) in 1977. However, Marxist M M Lawrence emerged the winner in 1980, thanks to the then political combine in which both the Kerala Congress (Mani) and Antony Congress found a place. In 1984, riding on the sympathy wave generated after Indira Gandhi's assassination, Professor Kurien set an all-time high victory margin in the state. While Pala K M Mathew of the Congress romped home victorious in 1989 and 1991, it was the turn of another Congress stalwart A C Jose to enjoy the loyalty of Idukki's voters in 1996. However, the victory margins have dwindled over the years. Both candidates cannot play the son-of-the-soil card -- they hail from outside Idukki -- so the fight is now on to establish proximity to the voters. Though Professor Kurien, who was earlier district Congress president of Pathanamthitta, feels he is closer to the electorate after his five-year term as representative, George is confident he is a known face, as he is in the fray for a third time. With no concrete issues to battle it over, it is little wonder that the charges against the Congress of pulling down the Vajpayee government and failing to put up an alternative, thanks to its obstinate stand, have caught the imagination of many in this far-flung place, especially the educated youth. The LDF is pinning its hopes on the new voters, numbering 68,476 who might tread a new political path. This hilly area, where agricultural produce is the main source of income, has always loved leaders who espouse the causes of rubber, cardamom, pepper, coffee, tea and coconut. It is not known how the ire over the slump in cash crops will influence the swing in votes, and in whose favour. The UDF is projecting Professor Kurien as a likely minister if the Congress comes to power at the Centre, and is emphasising on his experience as an administrator and leader. Pitted against the considerable strength of the Left trade unions in the plantations here, his poll managers hope to cash in on the alliance between the AIADMK and Congress in neighbouring Tamil Nadu to woo the Tamil populace here. They aver that the margin dipped last time due to infighting in the Congress camp, and add that a united party is fighting the election this time. However, Professor Kurien's cup of woe is full with the trial of the Suryanelli scandal, in which he is an accused, making the headlines. Suryanelli is in Idukki, and the Congressman is fighting an election for the first time after news of the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl rocked the state. Though the LDF says it will not rake up the scandal, the professor's strategists, reluctant to trust their rivals, say they will be unable to suppress a whisper campaign. Professor Kurien pleads his innocence and says the election is a moral fight to prove his integrity. His supporters won the first round by organising a warm reception at Suryanelli where he delivered an emotion-packed speech. The Congressman now hopes to persuade Sonia to address an election meeting in his constituency. UNI Sex scandal spells doom for Kurien THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 7 (UNI) — For former union minister and Congress Chief whip in the dissolved House P.J. Kurien, who was defeated in the Idukki constituency in Kerala, nemesis came in the form of an 18-year-old girl, who was gangraped and became the famous Suryanelli sex scandal.’ Idukki, which remained a fortress of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) eversince its inception in 1977 was written off by the Left Democratic Front as a rather unfriendly terrain. The Congress stalwart faltered and bowed to his LDF rival, Mr Francis George, by a margin of 9,298 votes, thanks to the scandal in which he happened to be the prime accused. It was the first time that Prof Kurien, who represented Mavelikkara five times and Idukki once, tasted defeat. He had won from the same constituency with a thumping majority of 130,624 votes in 1984, the last time he contested there. Despite all favourable factors — the Congress bastion, the Christian dominated hill-belt, anti-minority attacks by the BJP, the likelihood of a Cabinet berth in the event of the Congress returning to power at the Centre, conservative Congress supporters and his services as a union minister for the agro-based constituency — the girl poured water on the professor’s dream. Alhough Prof Kurien had maintained a lead till almost 80 per cent of counting, the slender lead went in favour of Mr Francis George (KC-LDF). The adverse poll verdict not only caused a dent in the stronghold of the Congress, but also showed signs of a shift of minorities from the Congress. Policemen to face action for
inaction in rape case The court had last week convicted 35 of the 39 accused of the charge of sexually exploiting a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Suryanelli village near Munnar in Kerala's Idukki district in 1996 and pulled up the policemen for trying to help the rapists. The case had sparked a political storm as the 42 people named by the girl initially included then Union minister P.J. Kurian, Kottayam 'panchayat' (village council) member Jacob Stephan and some lawyers. Stephan is among the 35 convicted. The policemen who came under fire include the then Munnar circle inspector V.K. Mathew and two constables, Rajan and Hari. Mathew is currently vigilance deputy superintendent of police in Kottayam. The court also chastised the then assistant sub-inspector P.K. Balakrishnan for not acting promptly on a complaint of the girl's disappearance from her hostel. The court found that besides failing to take proper action, the police also made deliberate attempts to save the culprits. It found that Mathew had recorded a false testimony from the girl that helped the suspects escape. In the testimony, the name Stephenji was changed to Shivaji with a view to diverting the course of investigations. The court expressed surprise that police had taken no action even one week after a complaint on the girl's disappearance was filed. This Dharma Raj helped the abductors take the girl to about a dozen places in Kerala and neighboring Tamil Nadu, resulting in her rape by some 40 people. Besides calling for action against the policemen for their indifference, the court suggested that suitable reforms be introduced to avert such lapses in future. Mathew, however, told the court that he could not take prompt action in the case as he was busy with investigations regarding a missing jeep worth Rs.50,000. The sentence is scheduled to be passed on Tuesday. Among the 39 key accused, lawyer Dharma Raj and Elite Devasia, are still on the run. Another accused, Salim, died during the trial. Four people were acquitted, as the girl could not identify them. Inspector General Sibi Mathew, who probed the case, said there were moves to exert pressure on him as a number of socially and politically known people were among the accused. He said evidence against the accused was collected after extensive investigations covering Kerala and Tamil Nadu and scrutiny of telephone records. The Peerimade First Class Magistrate had issued summons to Kurian in the case. Kurian then moved the High Court, which upheld the lower court's decision. Kurian subsequently moved the Supreme Court and the stay granted by it is still in force. Due to the stay, Kurian could not be included in the list of accused. Kurian has, however, filed a defamation suit against 'Desabhimani,' the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state, and the girl's parents. He has sought a compensation of Rs 2.5 million. The former minister had contested from the Idukki during the 1999 Lok Sabha polls and lost. The 'Desabhimani' on Monday observed that Mathew resorted to manipulations to save Stephan, who was a close aide of Congress leader Oommen Chandy. Another senior Congress leader, A.K. Antony, was the chief minister then. It noted that even though the girl's father had personally handed over a petition to Antony no action was taken, contending that the case was politically motivated. "What the police did was to loyally follow the policy of the higher-ups. That is why the police administration under Antony came under severe attack by the court," said the daily. This is the first time in India's judicial history that a Special Court was set up to try a rape case. India Abroad News Service Here are some more links from Google on the Story Indiainfo
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