A cold-blooded murder that ended on a farcical note, a high-voltage murder plot that is turning murkier by the day, a bomber of a sensational acquittal of a bishop— It was an eventful week for Kerala and the Left Front government. The murder of a 21-year-old engineering student-supporter of the ruling CPM’s student wing Students Federation of India on Monday sent shockwaves across the state and paved way for a slanging match between the CPM and the opposition Congress but degenerated into a Thiruvathirakali, a traditional Kerala dance form, that made the CPM see red. By Wednesday, the murder had been pushed back with a popular film actor, who is under trial for his role in a high-profile abduction and rape of a colleague actress, being framed on charges of conspiracy to kill the investigation officer probing his case. By Friday, a sessions court judge in central Kottayam dropped a bombshell by letting free a bishop charged with multiple rape of a nun in a nunnery in Kuravilangad, 45-minutes drive from Kottayam town, over a period of two years. All three incidents put the government and the ruling CPM at the centrestage even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan set off to the US for medical treatment.
The murder of the young engineering student was most foul, no doubt about that. But what followed the return of politics of murder on the campus was demeaning. Within hours of the murder, a prominent Youth Congress leader of the area was arrested and as the investigation began the CPM accused the current Congress leadership of plotting the murder and declared martyrdom for the student, Dheeraj Rajendran, who is barely known outside his friend circle in the college in Idukki. The Congress president K Sudhakaran, not given to niceties, shocked Kerala by saying that the CPM had “intentionally grabbed this martyrdom. They are not sad, but happy about it.”
But before the all-round condemnation died down, the decision of the CPM to take the body of the SFI activist by road – the funeral procession was supposed to stop at every prominent town to give floral tributes to the slain student– to his native Thaliparambu in CPM stronghold Kannur raised many eyebrows. It was clear that the party was out to capitalise the murder to the fullest, like one squzzes a lemon to take out the last drop of juice. Out came the news that overnight CPM had bought eight cents of land next to Rajendran’s house at Pattapara village in Thaliparambu. Rajendran’s body was cremated with “full party honours” there early Wednesday with the CPM announcing erection of a memorial there. Kannur is littered with such memorials, most of them lying uncared for. But the party, over the years, had made a killing in the name of raising funds for such memorials. But the hypocrisy of the CPM came to full light when it was revealed that as the funeral procession crawled its way, in state capital Thiruvananthapuram party functionaries were enjoying a Thiruvathirakali performed by 502 party women supporters singing paeans for Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan. a la North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Not only was it in violation of Covid norms prevailing in the state, but also it was an insult to the memory of the young student for whom the party was supposedly grieving. Such is the stuff politics is made of in Kerala. The trial against popular cine actor Dilip for his involvement in the abduction-rape of a fellow actress way back in February 2017 has been on closing stages when a new allegation against the actor plotting the murder of an investigation officer has come up. This has now paved the way to the reopening of the case where almost all the prosecution witnesses had turned hostile over the years. But this has put the focus straight on the state government which is sitting on the report of a commission it had set up to look into the shady dealing in the state film industry in the wake of the assault on the actress. The Justice Hema commission of which two-time Urvasi winner renowned actress Sharada is a member submitted a 300-page report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on December 31, 2019. However, the government was sitting over it for the past two years on the contention that the report is “too explosive and dangerous” and would put the “reputation of many bigwigs at stake”. As questions on who all the government was trying to shield were raised in the light of new revelations against Dilip, the government on Wednesday constituted a three-member panel to further study the Hema commission report. This has come as a cruel joke on all those actresses who have been fighting for justice for their colleague. The government has to clear the air of suspicion surrounding the case.
But the icing of the cake came on Friday when Kottayam Additional Sessions Judge acquitted Father Franco Milakkal, the former Jalandhar Bishop of the Catholic Church, of all charges in the alleged rape of a nun. There was outrage and celebration (crackers and distribution of sweets) at the same time as a divided Kerala tried to live through the verdict. Unlike in the actor’s case not one of the 37 witnesses turned hostile despite the lure of money and threat from the Church. Still the court found no concrete evidence to convict the bishop, though the full report is yet to be released. “This is a case in which the grain and chaff are inextricably mixed up. It is impossible to separate the grain from the chaff,” the court said. The order further said that “this court is unable to place reliance on the solitary testimony of PWI (Primary Witness) and to hold the accused guilty of the offenses charged against him.”
It was on June 27, 2018, that a nun, currently residing at the St Francis Mission House, Kuravilangad, had approached the District Police chief, Kottayam, with a complaint against Bishop Franco Mulakkal. As per the prosecution’s case, Bishop Franco had raped and forced her to have unnatural sex on many occasions between 2014 and 2017. The Church vehemently denied the charges and stood solidly behind the Bishop. The Church even tried to depict the nun as a ‘loose woman.’ The Left Front government, too, fearing backlash from the community, tried to ignore the case. It took five sisters from Kuravilangad House to stage a dharna in Kochi, forcing the government to act. Soon after, a special investigation team was formed, which arrested Mulakkal after several rounds of questioning. Subsequently, he was removed from the post of bishop. After weeks in judicial custody, Mulakkal secured bail from the Kerala High Court. Still the Church and the Bishop used their money power to silence the protesters. A month after the rape trial begun, the police officer who investigated the charges was summarily transferred, triggering allegations that the move was aimed at weakening the case. A key witness, also a priest, died in mysterious circumstances. A prominent casualty being Sister Lucy Kalappurakkal who was in the forefront of the agitation for justice for the nun, being a part of the Save Our Sisters Forum (SOS), an outfit formed in the wake of the nuns’ protest, was expelled from the Franciscan Christ Congregation (FCC). She is still fighting her case, refusing to quit the congregation. Even as the SOS is determined to move the higher court, the government is yet to react. Pinarayi Vijayan as Home minister has to take the final call. The next 60 days, the time given for further filing of petitions, is crucial for the nuns who, as some say, are worse than those Dalit and Adivasi women violated day after day.
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The trial against popular cine actor Dilip for his involvement in the abduction-rape of a fellow actress way back in February 2017 has been on closing stages when a new allegation against the actor plotting the murder of an investigation officer has come up. This has now paved the way to the reopening of the case where almost all the prosecution witnesses had turned hostile over the years. But this has put the focus straight on the state government which is sitting on the report of a commission it had set up to look into the shady dealing in the state film industry in the wake of the assault on the actress.