CPM leader names Kerala gangrape victim, justifies act

The CPM leader's decision to name the gangrape victim has invited stern criticism.

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The rape victim, along with her husband holding a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Saturday briefed reporters to announce the suspension of P.N. Jayanthan in the wake of rape charges against him, but party MLA K. Radhakrishnan managed to invite more criticism during his address by naming the rape victim.

While making the statement announcing the suspension of Jayanthan before the media, Radhakrishnan named the gangrape victim. When prodded by journalists not to reveal the name of the victim, he sternly said, “So you can name Jayanthan , but you can’t name the victim? That’s not right.”

The CPI-M decided to sack Jayanthan, a municipal councillor, after he was accused by a woman of raping her two years ago. She alleged that Jayanthan and three others raped her and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident. With covered faces, she and her husband appeared on Thursday to narrate the incident in front of reporters.

The CPM leader’s decision to name the gangrape victim invited stern criticism. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan said that Radhakrishnan should be arrested for the “serious crime”. “According to IPC 228A, Radhakrishnan has committed a serious crime and violated the Supreme Court instruction in this regard,” Kummanam said in a press statement, reported Manorama Online.

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