Kerala rape case: Activists plan massive meet

Kochi: The seething anger over the cops’ failure in nabbing culprits in the law student murder case will reach its zenith on Sunday with human rights and cultural activists among others planning a ‘Justice for Jisha’ confluence at Perumbavur Municipal stadium.

Hundreds of activists are expected to take out a march to the DySP office at Perumbavur in the morning even as CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury is scheduled to visit the victim’s mother at the taluk hospital. The issue has already become a major poll plank for all political fronts who try to blame each other for different lapses.

Meanwhile, the State Police Complaints Authority on Saturday issued notice to five police officials after admitting a petition filed by Basil, a lawyer from Vengola near Perumbavur, on the alleged failure of the police during the initial phase of the investigation.

Authority chairman K. Narayana Kurup said the police erred by not cordoning off the crime scene. “Failure on the part of the police to cordon off the area may have led to destruction of vital pieces of evidence,” he said.

Justice Kurup also came down heavily on the decision to cremate the body which amounted to permanent destruction of evidence by eliminating the possibility of exhuming the body.

The petition claimed discrepancy while conducting post-mortem of the body and failure in extending protection to the family despite repeated complaints by the victim’s mother.

Earlier, the Women’s Commission too took a suo motu case and its chairperson K. C. Rosakutty collected statements including that of the victim’s mother and sister. “While the mother and sister didn’t name anyone, they shared information which could prove very helpful to the police in nabbing the culprit. The information will be passed on to the police,” she said.