Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy yesterday urged the media to refrain from linking Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman
P J Kurien to the Suryanelli sex scandal, saying he has been “exonerated by two previous state governments and the Supreme Court” from
the charges.
“It’s most unfortunate that the media has targeted Kurien in the Suryanelli case. Kurien has been exonerated both by two previous Left governments in Kerala and the Supreme Court,” Chandy told reporters at a press conference here.
The apex court on January 31 cancelled a Kerala High Court verdict acquitting all but one of the accused in the 1996 Suryanelli sex scandal and ordered a retrial in the case. The victim on Friday indicated that she was considering the legal option of reopening the case against Kurien.
“The victim said the same things about Kurien that she said 17 years ago,” Chandy said.
“We did everything according to the rule of law and Kurien has been exonerated by the apex court. Raising this issue again is nothing but an attempt for political gain. This is really sad, especially the media targetting Kurien,” he said.
The chief minister said the scandal took place when
A K Antony was state chief minister, and a police team appointed by him had prepared a list of accused. But soon the Left government assumed office, a new probe was conducted under police officer Siby Mathews.
However, he said, after the new inquiry into the scandal, no new names were added to the list of accused.
He added that in the 17 years since the scandal took place, the Left government was in office for 10 years. When V S Achuthanandan headed the government from 2006-11 no progress was made in the case, Chandy claimed. The Suryanelli case was named after the place where the victim hailed from in the state’s Idukki district. The crime occurred in January 1996 when the then 16-year-old was threatened, abducted, abused by a bus conductor, and brutally raped and treated as a pleasure object for a period of 45 days
by 42 men. IANS
