‘Find suspect instead of harassing victim’

Women’s rights activist speaks out on Monday’s alleged rape of college student

December 26, 2014 02:18 am | Updated April 07, 2016 05:58 am IST - CHENNAI:

Even as the police refused to officially reveal the results of the medical tests in Monday’s alleged rape case, women’s rights activist and advocate Geeta Ramaseshan has said the police should focus on identifying and apprehending the suspect.

A 19-year-old college student registered a police complaint, stating she was raped by a man posing as a policeman in an isolated location on East Coast Road in Semmenchery on Monday evening. Following this, she was subjected to medical tests and the police claimed there were no external injuries. However, they said the medical report would only be produced in Court and not be shared with the media.

According to sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, the police now seem to be trying to establish that there was no case of rape.

Ms. Ramaseshan said: “Absence of external injuries does not mean that the offence did not take place. Not all cases of rape have ‘forceful entry’. What happens if a woman is drugged or is a condition in which she does not know what is happening, or if she has been threatened?”

She stressed that the police should concentrate on finding the suspect. “The investigation cannot be objective if they start with doubts on the complainant’s statement. There is no reason for a woman to give a complaint about a complete stranger,” she said.

Referring to the complainant’s claim that the man had asked her to accompany him to a police station, she pointed out the police did not have the right to take a woman to a police station for an enquiry. “They have to provide summons and cannot detain a woman in a station before sunrise or after sunset. Wherever possible, women police have to be part of the interrogation,” she said.

Meanwhile, the police claim they are interrogating people in the locality to get clues on the suspect’s identity. “The victim’s friend too is not able to provide any concrete information pertaining to the suspect,” said a senior police officer.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.