Sex case against Muslim party leader revived

The Kerala Police on Sunday registered a case against PK Kunhalikutty, former minister and general secretary of Indian Union Muslim League, a partner of the Congress-led UDF coalition, in connection with the infamous ice-cream parlour sex scandal.

With this police action, based on a directive from the Home Department, the Congress-led coalition, which was so far tipped to win the next Assembly election, has been pushed into the defensive. The UDF is reported to have started efforts to launch a counter-offensive against the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF in order to get over the crisis.

Case has also been registered against KA Rauf, Kunhalikutty’s co-brother and a controversial businessman who on Friday had revealed that the former minister had used his services to avoid being made an accused in the ice cream parlour sex case by paying heavy sums to the victims, witnesses, officials and even judges.

The new case is not on the ice cream parlour sex scandal but on the alleged illegal operations undertaken by Kunhalikutty and associates to make two girls, who were victims of sexual abuse and witnesses in the case, change the statements they had given to the police and court through bribing and threats.

However, this would lead to an effective reopening of the old case against Kunhalikutty, which was dropped in 2008 due to lack of evidences. Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has already given clear indications in this regard by saying that the present probe was to find out how the case was sabotaged.

The first information report, registered at the Kozhikode Town Police Station on Sunday, did not mention the names of Kunhalikutty or Rauf but sources said that they were the prime accused. The case was registered on the basis of the revelations made though newspapers and electronic media.

Both Kunhalikutty and Rauf have been charged with criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidences, creation of bogus evidences, document forgery, incitement for changing statements and other offences. Kodiyeri said that the Government would approach the court, if necessary, to get permission to reopen the probe into the sex scandal.

The basis of the new case is the documents put out through the media suggesting that Kunhalikutty had forced Rejina and Rajula, two of the victims of sex abuse in the ice cream parlour scandal, to change the confidential statements they had given to the court. As per reports, Kunhalikutty had got his name dropped in the revised statements by paying money to and threatening the girls, .

According to Rejina’s original statement, Kunhalikutty had sexually abused her at three different places when she was a minor in 1996. However, in the revised statement she said she had never met Kunhalikutty. Rauf alleged – and claimed that he had proof – that Kunhalikutty had paid a total of Rs 6.75 lakh to the two girls for this.

As per the revelations of Rauf, the former minister had spent money aggregating several millions of rupees to get his name dropped from the ice cream sex parlour scandal in which there were a total of 16 accused. He also indicated that Kunhalikutty had earned favorable judgments in the case by influencing even judges.

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