Rajya Sabha MPs express concern over rape-murder of Kerala law student

New Delhi: With several members in Rajya Sabha demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits in the rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Kerala, Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot on Wednesday said he will visit the village of the rape victim tomorrow.

30-year-old woman, a law student, who hailed from a poor family, was allegedly subjected to rape and brutal assault using sharp edged weapons before being murdered at her house in Perumbavoor on April 28.

No formal arrest has been made yet in the crime that shocked the state triggering intense politicking ahead of the May 16 Assembly polls.

Ernakulam Range IG Mahipal Yadav has said there were signs of strangulation, smothering and 13 injuries on the woman's neck, chest and at several other places of the body.

Some reports said the victim sustained around 20 injuries and her intestines were pulled out.

The crime has been dubbed "Kerala's Nirbhaya" for its chilling similarities to the 2012 gangrape of a young paramedic student in a moving bus. The girl later succumbed to her injuries.

During the Zero Hour, C P Narayanan of CPI(M) raised the issue of the rape and murder in Ernakulam district of Kerala on April 28, terming it as a "dastardly attack" similar to that of the Nirbhaya incident in Delhi.

He drew the House's attention that similar rape incidents occurred in Kasargod last week and in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday adding that it is a black mark and the police is not very active in apprehending the culprits. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said, "It is a very, very heinous crime. It is most shameful for every Keralites." Several members associated themselves with the issue and demanded strict action against the culprits, with Tarun Vijay of BJP demandiing that a team should visit the state.

Responding to the anguish expressed by members, Gehlot told them that he would visit the state tomorrow and meet the victim's family. "I will go to Kerala tomorrow and meet the family of the girl. I will help them in getting justice," he added.

Vijay, who had raised the issue as soon as the House met, said it was a repeat of the Nirbhaya case and the Kerala government has completely failed to control such incidences.

"God's own country" should not turn into a rapist country, he added. D Raja of CPI drew attention of the government towards the atrocities committed against Dalits across the country, adding that legislations have proved to be of no help.

S C Mishra of BSP said that atrocities were happening across India. "The House is concerned. Stringent action should be taken and exemplary punishment given. Do everything possible so that such incidents do not happen," Kurien said.

Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the incident of rape and murder had crossed all limits and was inhuman.