Tamil Nadu Deputy Speaker Pollachi V. Jayaraman on Tuesday urged Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo to investigate and take action against those who are allegedly spreading rumours against him and his family in the Pollachi serial sexual assault and blackmail case.
Briefing journalists at the Secretariat after submitting a representation to the CEO, Mr. Jayaraman reiterated his claim that the DMK was behind attempts to defame him and the AIADMK ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Stating that he was the one who had brought the scandal to the notice of the police, he said the complainant in the case “has today released an audio” and her brother released a video clip on Monday. “Both have made it clear that I was the one who supported them through this traumatic period,” he claimed.
Mr. Jayaraman alleged that the DMK had politicised the issue after the Lok Sabha elections were notified.
On Tuesday, in an audio message circulated on social media and mobile messaging platforms, a woman claiming to be the complainant in the case, said Mr. Jayaraman, whom her family approached through an acquaintance, had helped her lodge the police complaint.
At the time of lodging the complaint a month ago, the police and Mr. Jayaraman assured her of protecting her identity, the woman claimed. But now after the announcement of election, a few “mischievous elements” politicised the issue and attempted to reveal her identity.
‘May dissuade victims’
This would only dissuade sexual harassment victims from coming forward to lodge complaints, the woman said and added that no ruling party member or their family member was involved in the case. She pleaded with everyone not to spread rumours and appealed to the police to initiate action against such persons.
More than the crime committed by the four accused, the actions of those seeking political gain pained her family and claimed that it had even forced them to contemplate extreme steps.
Meanwhile, a video is doing the rounds in which a man, whose face is morphed, claiming to be the brother of the complainant alleges that there were attempts to politicise the case to project the AIADMK in poor light.
