Kerala court issues notice to Kurien in Suryanelli case

Gang-rape victim files review petition

A Kerala court has ordered issue of notices to Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien and five accused in the Suryanelli gang-rape case after the victim filed a criminal revision petition.

The Thodupuzha District Court on Tuesday accepted the petition seeking registering of an FIR against Kurien in the light of new disclosures by the lone convict in the case and a member of the special investigation team that probed the case.

Justice Abraham Mathew ordered that notices should be served on Dharmarajan, a prime accused in the case, and two other accused, Jamal and Unnikrishnan, besides Kurien and the state government.

The case has been posted for May 29 and the court has directed the prosecution to produce before it Dharmarajan, who has been convicted in the case, and the persons who get the notice.

The Peermedu Magistrate court on March 2 rejected the victim’s petition citing that the Supreme Court had already acquitted Kurien from the case in which she had alleged that Kurien had raped her.

The Peermedu court said the law of the land does not permit for reopening of a case which was disposed of by the apex court.

Last month, Dharmarajan had alleged that he had driven Kurien to the girl lodged in a guest house at Kumaly in Idukki district and three other accused in the case had  accompanied them in another vehicle.Recently, retired DySP Joshuva, who was a member of the SIT that probed the case, disclosed that Siby Mathews, the head of the team, hadn’t allowed for proper investigation of the charges against Kurien.

Citing these two new disclosures in the case, the victim had approached Chingavanam police station in Kottayam district where she now lives. She sought registering of a fresh FIR against Kurien. The police rejected the petition after which she moved the magistrate court.

The rape took place in Suryanelli in Idukki in January 1996, when the victim, then a 16-year-old girl, was threatened, abducted and abused by a bus conductor and was later confined and raped by 42 men for 45 days.

The apex court ordered a retrial on January 31 while setting aside the 2005 order by the Kerala High Court which acquitted 35 people convicted by a special court.