The survivor in the infamous 1996 Suryanelli rape case, in which a minor was raped and assaulted by several men over a period of a month, has hit back at retired IPS officer Siby Mathews for ‘humiliating’ her in his recent book by doubting her story and stating that she lied. The survivor has alleged that he has written so in his book to tarnish her image, reports Manoramaonline.
Mathews, in his recently released book ‘Nirbhayam’, about the story of his service, had raised doubts about the woman’s character and stated that Congress leader PJ Kurien was unnecessarily dragged into the case.
The former DGP also alleged that the woman had been cooking up stories to distort the investigation initially. Mathews stated that the woman hadn’t named Kurien at the beginning when questioned but later added the name to the list of accused.
In an interview given to Kairali TV four years ago, the girl had confirmed that the Congress leader had assaulted her. “I did not know he was a prominent person then. But I am sure that it was him,” she had said in the interview.
The woman has however refuted these allegations and claimed that she did not know who he was in the beginning. She has said that this has hurt her. She says that she is being humiliated in her work place and the police officers’ statements are bringing back the trauma to the family. She had reportedly also complained to CPI (M) veteran VS Achuthanandan who unveiled the book.
In the 1996 case, the girl, who was 16 years old then, was trafficked across Kerala, raped by around 39 men over a period of more than a month. Many prominent people including politicians were accused in the case.