The Suryanelli case.
1. The case that shook Kerala in early 1996, in which a teenage girl was enticed, abducted and sexually exploited by a bus conductor and then handed over to several men, for exploitation for over 40 days. This happened to be the first of its kind, exposing the crass deprivation that the Malayalee will have to rue about, forever.
(a) The present.
A young lady, all of 33 years, and a last grade employee in the Sales tax department had come to hear that the Supreme Court had overturned the High Court verdict and asked for a retrial of the case. She was enjoying her lunch recess when she heard the news and was too overwhelmed to react!
(b) The past.
A girl, studying in class IX at the Little Flower English Medium School, Nallathanni at Munnar goes missing. She hails from Suryanelli of Idukki district. She was abducted and transported from place to place, being violated all the time in captivity.
2. The anatomy of the case.
16 Jan 1996 The girl student of class IX goes missing. She was lured by Raju, a bus
conductor under the pretext of love, assisted by his accomplice in crime,
Usha.
26 Jan '96 The girl's father lodges a complaint at Munnar police station.
26 Feb '96 The girl returns home. Her father lodges another complaint based on his
daughter's story.
18 Mar '96 The case is handed over to a special team of the Crime Branch for
investigation.
06 Jul '96 Siby Mathews, DIG takes over charge of the investigation.
19 Jul '96 He files the chargesheet at the court in Devikulam.
23 Aug '96 The court rejects the chargesheet saying that it's not backed by
adequate proof.
26 Aug '97 The same court accepts the chargesheet.
19 Dec '98 The state cabinet decides to set up a special court at Kottayam to try
the case.
16 Nov '99 The trial starts in the special court at Kottayam.
18 Aug '00 The trial is completed.
02 Sep '00 The judge convicts 35 and acquits 5, out of the 40 accused.
06 Sep '00 The convicted are awarded punishment.
17 Sep '00 The main accused, Dharmarajan, an advocate is arrested.
13 Jul '02 Dharmarajan is awarded life imprisonment by the special court of Kottayam.
02 Nov '04 Reji, the fourth convict, commits suicide.
20 Jan '05 Based on the convicts' appeal against the special court's judgement
the High Court acquits everyone, except Dharmarajan. (The court is
critical about the fact that the young lady did not attempt to escape
from her captors during the prolonged period of captivity!)
11 May '05 The state government appeals against the HC judgement in the Supreme
Court ( The UDF is in power and it shouldn't be forgotten that the
misdemeanour had taken place during one of its previous regimes and the
LDF was relentless in its charge that a senior Congress politician was
involved!)
31 Jan '13 The Supreme Court overturns the judgement and directs that a retrial
be carried out.
Tailpiece.
Who's trying to save whom? Being an Indian and a Malayalee, I'm apalled by the travesty of justice. When can that young lady hope to get a reprieve from the trauma?
1. The case that shook Kerala in early 1996, in which a teenage girl was enticed, abducted and sexually exploited by a bus conductor and then handed over to several men, for exploitation for over 40 days. This happened to be the first of its kind, exposing the crass deprivation that the Malayalee will have to rue about, forever.
(a) The present.
A young lady, all of 33 years, and a last grade employee in the Sales tax department had come to hear that the Supreme Court had overturned the High Court verdict and asked for a retrial of the case. She was enjoying her lunch recess when she heard the news and was too overwhelmed to react!
(b) The past.
A girl, studying in class IX at the Little Flower English Medium School, Nallathanni at Munnar goes missing. She hails from Suryanelli of Idukki district. She was abducted and transported from place to place, being violated all the time in captivity.
2. The anatomy of the case.
16 Jan 1996 The girl student of class IX goes missing. She was lured by Raju, a bus
conductor under the pretext of love, assisted by his accomplice in crime,
Usha.
26 Jan '96 The girl's father lodges a complaint at Munnar police station.
26 Feb '96 The girl returns home. Her father lodges another complaint based on his
daughter's story.
18 Mar '96 The case is handed over to a special team of the Crime Branch for
investigation.
06 Jul '96 Siby Mathews, DIG takes over charge of the investigation.
19 Jul '96 He files the chargesheet at the court in Devikulam.
23 Aug '96 The court rejects the chargesheet saying that it's not backed by
adequate proof.
26 Aug '97 The same court accepts the chargesheet.
19 Dec '98 The state cabinet decides to set up a special court at Kottayam to try
the case.
16 Nov '99 The trial starts in the special court at Kottayam.
18 Aug '00 The trial is completed.
02 Sep '00 The judge convicts 35 and acquits 5, out of the 40 accused.
06 Sep '00 The convicted are awarded punishment.
17 Sep '00 The main accused, Dharmarajan, an advocate is arrested.
13 Jul '02 Dharmarajan is awarded life imprisonment by the special court of Kottayam.
02 Nov '04 Reji, the fourth convict, commits suicide.
20 Jan '05 Based on the convicts' appeal against the special court's judgement
the High Court acquits everyone, except Dharmarajan. (The court is
critical about the fact that the young lady did not attempt to escape
from her captors during the prolonged period of captivity!)
11 May '05 The state government appeals against the HC judgement in the Supreme
Court ( The UDF is in power and it shouldn't be forgotten that the
misdemeanour had taken place during one of its previous regimes and the
LDF was relentless in its charge that a senior Congress politician was
involved!)
31 Jan '13 The Supreme Court overturns the judgement and directs that a retrial
be carried out.
Tailpiece.
Who's trying to save whom? Being an Indian and a Malayalee, I'm apalled by the travesty of justice. When can that young lady hope to get a reprieve from the trauma?
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