Accused of sexual assault, ex-Kerala govt pleader ‘faced blackmail, caste insults’ for months before suicide, police say

A man identified as 40-year-old Johnson Joy has been arrested under BNS sections 108 (abetting suicide) and 308 (extortion), and section 3(2) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He was produced before court on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody.

Kollam city Assistant Commissioner of Police S Shareef, who is heading the investigation, said: “Hours before he died, Manu had typed a WhatsApp message to his friends detailing the circumstances that forced him to end his life, his innocence in the fresh allegation, and the names of persons responsible for his death. However, this message had not been sent from his mobile phone for lack of internet connectivity at that time.”

“The abetment to suicide and blackmail was revealed when his mobile phone was examined as part of the probe, leading to the arrest of one person. At this stage, we are not revealing the names of others involved in the case,” Shareef said.

According to police, Johnson was previously arrested by Ernakulam rural police in October last year in connection with an attempt to murder case. While he was in jail, Johnson’s wife approached Manu with her husband’s case. Police said that Johnson, while out on bail, accused Manu of sexually abusing his wife, and last November, the former allegedly told the latter that the issue could be resolved if he tendered an apology.

Worried that the registration of another sexual abuse case could lead to the cancellation of his bail, Manu went to Johnson’s house in Ernakulam district along with his wife and sister, police said.

“At the house, they were forced to tender an apology to Johnson’s wife. It was recorded on a mobile phone. Johnson slapped Manu in the face and insulted him over caste in front of his wife and sister. The women cried, but Johnson continued to shower abuse on Manu…,” an officer said.

Later, Johnson allegedly used this recorded video to threaten Manu and demanded Rs 20 lakh for not releasing the clip, police said. When Manu refused to pay, Johnson allegedly posted the video on social media, where it went viral.

Police also accused Johnson of defacing the board at Manu’s office and the rear window of his car with caste-based insults.

Manu had been charged in a case of sexual assault in November 2023. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman who had approached him for help with a 2018 rape case. Subsequently, he was forced to quit as senior government pleader at the High Court, a post he had held since 2021. Prior to that, Manu had served as a special prosecutor for the NIA in Kochi.