The political controversy over the alleged linkage of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran with Monson Mavunkal, the alleged fake antiques dealer and a convict in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, took a curious turn with Mavunkal alleging on Monday that the police forced him to link Mr. Sudhakaran with him in the case.
Mavunkal told a district court here that two officials wanted him to give the statement that Mr. Sudhakaran was present at the house when the alleged sexual offence took place. The police officials also threatened and compelled him to state that he had given ₹25 lakh to the KPCC president, he informed the court.
The police officials, including a retired official, compelled Mavunkal to give these statements while taking him to the office of the Crime Branch (CB) after the court convicted him in the sexual offence, said M.G. Sreejith, the counsel for the convict.
Mavunkal raised the complaint while he was presented before the court through a video conference. The court asked him to file a formal complaint which shall be forwarded through the superintendent of the prison in which he was lodged, said the lawyer.
Incidentally, the statement of M.V. Govindan, the State secretary of the CPI (M), that the victim had given a statement that Mr. Sudhakaran was present at the house when the alleged sexual exploitation had taken place kicked up a controversy as the allegation was raised after the trial court pronounced the order in the case. Mr. Sudhakaran had come out against the CPI(M) leader for what he termed as a “blatant lie.”
Meanwhile, the counsel for Mavunkal said he would move the court to book a case against the police officials for their “illegal acts” and threatened him to wrongly implicate the persons in the case who were not involved in the alleged offences.
