A sensational rape case of 2016, in which a housewife accused three brothers — including a CPIM ward councillor — of gang rape in Kerala, has been found to be fake and closed, said media reports quoting a status update given by the police to the local MLA.
Two prominent celebrity women’s rights activists, dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi and film actress T Parvathi, had arranged a press conference in which the woman had covered her face while making the allegations.
The woman alleged that the brothers, one of whom is a ward councillor for the CPIM, had subjected her to gang rape in Thrissur and also made a video of the act.
The complainant also approached the court a second time a few months later, pointing out that the accused persons have not been arrested yet despite her allegations. She submitted that all accused must be arrested as part of the investigation process, according to Supreme Court’s guidelines.
A year later, artist Bhagyalakshmi said at an event that she was facing a lot of questions about the genuineness of the allegations against the three brothers.
“My reply has been that you feel it’s a motivated case because the accused is a politician like you,” she said, speaking in August 2017.
The activist also said that the complainant and her husband were staunchly behind the case and there was no question of them withdrawing the complaint.
CASE CLOSED
According to the latest reports, Congress MLA Anil Akkara sought a status report on the investigations from the Kerala Home Ministry, and the report said that the allegations were found to be fake and the case closed.
A few months after the sensational press conference, the parents-in-law of the accuser had issued a press statement and conducted a press conference in which they stated that they had no faith in the accusations leveled by their son and his wife, and that they believed that accusations were most likely motivated by financial considerations.
It remains to be seen if the women’s rights activists or opposition Congress Party tries to revive the case and oppose the decision to close the investigation by the CPIM-controlled government.