The Kerala Police’s Crime Branch on Thursday slapped a fresh charge of outraging the modesty of a woman under Section 354 of the IPC on former Minister Jose Thettayil, presently a Janata Dal(S) MlA, two days after the High Court stayed for 10 days the proceedings against him as per an FIR registered against him for sexually abusing a 30-year-old woman.
The fresh charge was filed before a Magistrate court in Aluva near Kochi. Police sources said that the charge under Section 354 was present in the complaint filed by the woman saying that Thettayil, now 63, and his son Adarsh (26) had been sexually abusing her for the past two years.
The High Court had on Tuesday stayed the proceedings against Thettayil on the basis of the FIR which had charged him with rape under Section 376 observing that rape charge was not maintainable because it was apparent that Thettayil and the woman had gone through the sexual relationship as per mutual consent.
legal experts pointed out that the Crime Branch had hastily slapped the charge under Section 354 on Thettayil in a bid to prevent the cancellation of the FIR. Crime Branch sources informed that the charge of outraging the modesty of the woman was very much there in the complaint lodged by the woman as she had said that the MlA had used force to conquer her physically.
The woman, an MCA hailing from Thettayil’s Angamaly constituency, had lodged her complaint with the police on June 23 saying that Thettayil had abused her sexually promising that his son would marry her and his son had abused her feigning love. The woman had also presented to the police webcam-grabbed video clippings of the bedroom scenes as evidence.
The High Court had on Tuesday issued notice to the woman to appear on Thursday for recording her detailed statement as there were discrepancies in her complaint but this was postponed to July 17 after the counsel for the complainant sought more time. The High Court will now take up Thettayil’s plea seeking quashing of the FIR on Monday.
The Janata Dal (S) MlA, who had gone into hiding on June 23 after the woman filed her complaint against him, had appeared before the media on Wednesday evening following the HC’s order staying proceedings on the basis of the FIR.