Kerala: CPM suspends 2 leaders facing charges of gangraping woman

Thrissur: The CPM has suspended  P.N. Jayanthan,  councillor of Wadakkanchery municipality,  and Bineesh, branch committee member,  who are facing allegations of gang-raping a woman along with two others,  from the primary membership of the party. District secretary K. Radhakrishnan told reporters   after the CPM district secretariat meeting here on Friday that Jayanthan, who was suspended in the light of the allegations,  will continue as the councillor.

Mr Radhakrishnan revealed the  name of the alleged victim and said that he was doing it as she had named the  accused. “The allegations need to be probed in detail and the party will do it. If Jayanthan and his friends have done anything wrong, the party will not support him. We are hearing different views about the allegations and we also have to support them if they are innocent,” he added.

Protests in Wadakkanchery The  Congress and the BJP held protest marches in front of the municipal office in Wadakkanchery demanding the resignation of Jayanathan and two other party councillors Madhu Ambalapuram (CPM independent) and P.R. Aravindakshan for allegedly trying to hush up the gang-rape with the support of the police. The Congress has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal for their resignation in Wadakkanchery municipality on Saturday.