No progress in Wadakkanchery gangrape case enquiry

THRISSUR: The police investigation into the Wadakkanchery gangrape case, in which a CPM councillor and his three friends are involved, has reached nowhere, the lawyer of the victim has alleged. The head of the special investigation team Palakkad ASP G. Poonguzhali met the alleged victim and her husband at the PWD rest house at Chembukkavu in Thrissur and cross-checked several facts with them on Sunday.

"It is for the sixth time my client has been summoned for such verification after she along with dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi and activist Mala Parvathi held a press conference in Thiruvanthapuram in November last year alleging negligence by the Peramangalam police with whom the complaint was filed. The SIT members, including the ASP, spoke to the victim from10.30 a.m. to 3 p.m on Sunday. But, nearly five months into the investigation, the police have not arrested the accused and collected their statements," victim's lawyer C.R. Jaison said.

He added that the police had not yet made any progress in proving the alleged crime. The Wadakkanchery magistrate court has been monitoring the investigation for the past four months and a progress report is being filed at the court every 10 days. "We have collected the statement of the accused and are cross-checking facts with the complainant," Ms Poonguzhali told Deccan Chronicle. Further details of the investigation could not be revealed, she added. Mr Jaison said that in such a serious case, the police should take the accused into custody and record their statements.