The Kerala State Women’s Commission will recommend to the government to take steps for legal protection of a 23-year-old woman who gashed the genitals of a godman who had been sexually assaulting her for eight years.
No case had been registered against the woman in the incident, the commission said. At a press conference here on Wednesday, after a mega adalat at PWD Rest House at Thycaud, commission members Lissy Jose and Shiji Shivaji, and director V.U. Kuriakose denied reports that they they had not met the woman.
“She has been housed in a secure institution under the government. She told us that she was getting all help and support from the investigating officials. The commission will do all that is possible to provide her legal aid when required,” they said. The investigation in the case registered against Ganeshananda Theerthapada, the accused, was apace, they added.
The adalat, held to address complaints from the district, saw 130 complaints being considered, of which 52 were settled. Sixty-eight cases were posted for the next adalat. Reports from various departments had been sought in nine cases, and one case was sent for counselling.
Most cases related to family disputes and those with neighbours.
In one case, children had been removed from their mother and the father refused to pay his wife any maintenance. It was decided to take up legal action for reuniting the children with their mother and for payment of maintenance every month to the wife.
Stray dogs
There were a few general complaints, one related to stray dogs. The complainant, an elderly woman, alleged that her neighbour was verbally abusing her. When the commission investigated the complaint, it found that that there was a mass petition against the complainant in the panchayat. She was housing nearly 15 dogs without even a compound wall around her house.
This was posing a huge problem for the neighbours, especially young children. That was when they filed the mass petition in the panchayat. It was then decided to take the dogs to veterinary hospital. However, the complainant did not do that, and instead filed a petition with the commission. Any bid to convince her did not succeed, so the commission urged the opposite parties to approach the Local Self-government Department with a complaint and take further legal action.
Touching case
In a touching case, a mother approached the commission to resolve the disputes between her son and his wife. Boundary and road issues in which the complainants were women were also taken up. One complaint that could not be addressed related to taking water from the sole public tap in a panchayat. As his wife was unwell, a man went to fill water from the tap, but the women there filed a joint complaint against him. But with the man not turning up for the adalat, the complaint could not be settled.
A woman who married 19 years ago after paying 115 sovereigns of gold and ₹1 lakh was being denied basic freedom by her husband and mother-in-law. She was not allowed to cook or watch television and was confined to the first floor of their house. A notice had been sent to the husband and mother-in-law but since they did not turn up, a notice would be sent again.
The adalat will continue on Thursday, with 150 cases scheduled to be taken up.
