Kerala dowry-related domestic violence: Special investigation team to probe charges against accused

Kerala domestic violence case: Special investigation team to probe charges against Pantheerankavu native

A special investigation team (SIT) led by Assistant Commissioner Saju K. Abraham has been constituted to probe the domestic violence case in which a newly-married woman from North Paravoor was allegedly assaulted and tortured at her husband’s house at Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode city in Kerala.

Rahul P. Gopal, the victim’s husband, is the first accused in the incident which came to light when her parents came to see her on May 12.

In the preliminary investigation, the special team comprising seven officers found that the 29-year-old accused had been married twice and he had not revealed the details to anyone while attempting to marry the third time. He had also not secured legal divorce in one of the marriages, sources said.

The SIT was entrusted with the probe following the woman’s complaint to the Kerala Chief Minister and other senior police officers that the petition she had filed earlier with the Pantheerankavu police was cold-shouldered by some of the officers. An investigation has now been also ordered against the alleged lapse on the part of the local police in taking up the case.

Based on media reports, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) also ordered a separate investigation into the alleged laxity on the part of the Pantheerankavu police. District Police Chief (Kozhikode city) Rajpal Meena has been asked to submit a report on the issue in 15 days. The case is set to be considered at the next sitting of the commission in June.

Rahul and the Paravoor native tied the knot on May 5. The proposal came through a matrimonial site.

According to the complainant, it was the arguments related to “poor dowry” that led to the alleged physical assault by her husband and his family members. The woman also claimed that she had been taken to a hospital at Feroke after she fell unconscious following the assault and that she sustained injuries on her neck, forehead and lips.