Kerala MLA accused of assault; 'I was repeatedly beaten up & threatened', says woman
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Kochi: The Kerala woman, who filed a police report alleging abuse by Perumbavoor Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Eldhose Kunnappilly, appeared in front of the media on Wednesday morning, October 12, with a crimson and black scarf covering her face. She mentioned the alleged physical attack she suffered at the hands of the Congress MLA while pointing out that the police appeared to be taking a while to respond to her complaint. She played a recording in which Eldhose is reportedly speaking about her to a media person and cited an alleged offer of money from the MLA to settle the dispute.
The alleged assault occurred on September 14 when the MLA allegedly showed up intoxicated at the victim's home in Thiruvananthapuram and asked that she go with him. She said that she was beaten and coerced into accompanying him. She claimed that there were other assaults in the car after that and that she ultimately needed to be transferred to the general hospital for treatment. "It was not I who called the police on that day, the onlookers who witnessed the attack did. When people gathered, the MLA claimed that I was his wife and took me away," the woman said.
Their relationship started back in 2016, when Eldhose won his first election as a Congress party MLA, according to her. Currently serving his second term, he. According to reports, the woman first met with him through a friend who was an MLA staff member. However, she said that she didn't start getting close to the MLA until this July. She claimed that in the months that followed, things went wrong and that Eldhose had taken her to various locations and abused her. She refused to comment on whether or not it was sexual assault, claiming that she already disclosed all of those details on Tuesday in court when she submitted her statement based on Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
"I had first taken my complaint to the Women's Cell. But since it is against an MLA, I was directed to go to the Commissioner's office. The Commissioner then transferred the case to the Kovalam station [since the assault happened in their jurisdiction]. I went there with the complaint on September 28. When I went to the station on October 1, the police officer there asked for more time. I was next called on October 7 and again told midway that I should come the next day. On October 8, I saw the Circle Inspector and the MLA together. They spoke to me about a compromise (money to the tune of Rs 30 lakh), which I didn't agree to. On October 9, I was once again physically assaulted by the MLA," the woman said, The News Minute reported.
After the attack on October 9, she reportedly set out for Kanyakumari while boarding a series of random buses because she had no idea where she was going. The complainant said that she had planned to commit suicide and had even left her identifying cards at home so that her body would not be recognised. She claimed that she didn't want to embarrass her family. But at that time, a friend had reported her missing, and the police got in touch with her once more. She said to the police that she was under pressure to resolve the case and was unable to stay at home. She is alone, and nobody will stand up for her, the woman said, her voice breaking.
The woman claimed that once her complaint went public, she started to receive threats and hateful comments on social media. She claimed that the Kovalam CI had spoken about her on news channels, disclosing her identity and location. "I too am a survivor; I need to go out into society. I went ahead with the complaint after reaching a point where I couldn't take it anymore. I don't trust the Congress party to take any action against him, they will only try to protect each other," she said.
The woman also played an audio tape of what she claimed to be an interaction between the MLA and a member of the media, in which they can be heard discussing a woman's defamation lawsuit and the mention of Rs 10 lakh while claiming to have digital proofs with her. However, it's unclear what the situation is or who they are referring to.
She indicated that she had a lot to say but that she was unable to go into further detail at this time. "But it has all been stated before the court," she added.