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Kerala sex scandal: Five found guilty
The special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday convicted five of the seven accused in the Kiliroor sex scandal that had become sensational due to the political colour it had acquired because of the alleged involvement of some ‘VIPs’. The court would pronounce the quantum of punishment on Wednesday after hearing the accused.
The case pertained to the one-year-long sexual abuse of Sari S Nair (15) of Kiliroor, Kottayam, since August 2003 by several people in different places of Kerala and her death in suspicious circumstances in November 2004 after giving birth to a baby girl. The case was first probed by the local police and then the Crime Branch before the CBI took over the investigation.
Those convicted by the court on Monday were Praveen from Guruvayur, Thrissur district, Manoj of Thiruvankulam, Ernakulam district, Latha Nair of Mallappilly in Pathanamthitta district, Kochumon alias Biju belonging to Nattakam, Kottayam district and Prasanth of Thrippunithura, Ernakulam district. The court acquitted seventh accused Somanathan for want of evidence.
First accused Omanakkutty had earlier turned an approver. A DNA analysis had found that Praveen was the father of Sari’s child and he had confirmed this in the court. On Monday, he said he would ask Sari’s parents for the right to be the guardian of the child and would approach the family court for this. But Sari’s parents said that they would not give up the child.
The court found that the prosecution had been able to prove the charges of gangrape and conspiracy slapped on the accused. They were also charged with kidnapping, cheating and incitement. Latha Nair appealed to the court for acquittal as her husband was unwell. Praveen prayed for the sentence to be light.
Sari’s parents responded to the verdict by saying that they had not got justice from the CBI court and would approach the Kerala High Court. Sari’s father Surendran Nair told the media that he would seek a detailed probe into the death of his daughter which had not come under the purview of the CBI investigation. “The VIP angle of the case also should be examined,” he said.
The court prepared the 70-page verdict after examination of 67 witnesses and 48 documents. At one stage, the proceedings in the case caused anxiety after the court on January 11 observed that the CBI had no evidence - medical records or witness accounts - to establish that Sari was even sexually abused. The agency had filed the chargesheet in 2006 naming nine as accused.
As per the case, Sari was sexually abused by various people for a year at different places in Kerala by promising her roles in television serials. After wrestling with painful body conditions for more than three months, she died in a Kottayam hospital on November 13, 2004 after giving birth to a baby girl, Sneha.
Though initial reports suggested that copper poisoning could have been the reason of death there was no clear conclusion on this. On Monday, Sari’s father said that his daughter was killed “inch by inch” by slow poisoning. He complained that only small fish had been caught by the CBI while ‘guilty VIPs’ were allowed to roam freely.
The Kiliroor case became a big controversy after allegations came up that Sari, while under treatment at the hospital, was seen visibly disturbed when a ‘VIP’ (allegedly belonging to the Marxist party) visited her. Even Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan had raised this allegation but he later withdrew it after reports on this put his party, the CPI(M), in big trouble.
The special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday convicted five of the seven accused in the Kiliroor sex scandal that had become sensational due to the political colour it had acquired because of the alleged involvement of some ‘VIPs’. The court would pronounce the quantum of punishment on Wednesday after hearing the accused.
The case pertained to the one-year-long sexual abuse of Sari S Nair (15) of Kiliroor, Kottayam, since August 2003 by several people in different places of Kerala and her death in suspicious circumstances in November 2004 after giving birth to a baby girl. The case was first probed by the local police and then the Crime Branch before the CBI took over the investigation.
Those convicted by the court on Monday were Praveen from Guruvayur, Thrissur district, Manoj of Thiruvankulam, Ernakulam district, Latha Nair of Mallappilly in Pathanamthitta district, Kochumon alias Biju belonging to Nattakam, Kottayam district and Prasanth of Thrippunithura, Ernakulam district. The court acquitted seventh accused Somanathan for want of evidence.
First accused Omanakkutty had earlier turned an approver. A DNA analysis had found that Praveen was the father of Sari’s child and he had confirmed this in the court. On Monday, he said he would ask Sari’s parents for the right to be the guardian of the child and would approach the family court for this. But Sari’s parents said that they would not give up the child.
The court found that the prosecution had been able to prove the charges of gangrape and conspiracy slapped on the accused. They were also charged with kidnapping, cheating and incitement. Latha Nair appealed to the court for acquittal as her husband was unwell. Praveen prayed for the sentence to be light.
Sari’s parents responded to the verdict by saying that they had not got justice from the CBI court and would approach the Kerala High Court. Sari’s father Surendran Nair told the media that he would seek a detailed probe into the death of his daughter which had not come under the purview of the CBI investigation. “The VIP angle of the case also should be examined,” he said.
The court prepared the 70-page verdict after examination of 67 witnesses and 48 documents. At one stage, the proceedings in the case caused anxiety after the court on January 11 observed that the CBI had no evidence - medical records or witness accounts - to establish that Sari was even sexually abused. The agency had filed the chargesheet in 2006 naming nine as accused.
As per the case, Sari was sexually abused by various people for a year at different places in Kerala by promising her roles in television serials. After wrestling with painful body conditions for more than three months, she died in a Kottayam hospital on November 13, 2004 after giving birth to a baby girl, Sneha.
Though initial reports suggested that copper poisoning could have been the reason of death there was no clear conclusion on this. On Monday, Sari’s father said that his daughter was killed “inch by inch” by slow poisoning. He complained that only small fish had been caught by the CBI while ‘guilty VIPs’ were allowed to roam freely.
The Kiliroor case became a big controversy after allegations came up that Sari, while under treatment at the hospital, was seen visibly disturbed when a ‘VIP’ (allegedly belonging to the Marxist party) visited her. Even Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan had raised this allegation but he later withdrew it after reports on this put his party, the CPI(M), in big trouble.
