Political blame game goes on close to elections.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
The Kerala government has announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh to the family of the 29-year-old law student, Jisha, who was brutally raped and killed at her home in Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district.
The Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, visited the family of the woman on Wednesday. He said that the government will take strong action against the culprits and will provide the family of the victim with all necessary aid.
“This incident is a shame to the state. We’ve decided to give all assistance to the family. Her Family wants to get a job for the sister of the deceased girl, will do the necessary,” Chandy told ANI.
“Will take strong legal action against the culprits in the brutal murder. Offenders will not be spared. The guilty will be brought to justice swiftly,” he added.
The police have started an investigation and arrested two persons in connection with the case. The investigation team headed by Ernakulam Range IG Mahipal Yadav is questioning them and the police are yet to publicize the identity of the people under custody.
A sketch of the suspect, who was seen leaving victim’s residence on the day of the crime, was released on Wednesday. The caricature was prepared by collecting details from the eyewitnesses.
Meanwhile, the opposition Communist Party of India (M) came down heavily on the Oommen Chandy government for not taking proper action to find the culprits.
“Instead of acting firmly while dealing with such cases, it is shameful that the state police and the Congress-led UDF government initially tried to cover up this heinous crime. Such behavior on the part of the police and the administration is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated by any civilized society. It was thanks to a vigilant media and the massive public outcry that followed that forced the police to finally act,” CMI (M) said in a statement.
On Wednesday morning, leader of opposition V.S. Achuthanandan reached the hospital where Jisha’s mother is undergoing treatment.
“All this will happen in a state when the Oommen Chandy government is going on. It is going to be a week now and no one has been arrested,” he said.
The BJP also came up with strong criticism against the inaction of the government and the police to curb violence against women. The incident has triggered a political blame game in the state which is going for legislative elections on May 16.
The National Women’s Commission, State Women’s commission, and Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Cast and Scheduled Tribe have intervened in the issue.
On Wednesday, the issue came up in the Rajya Sabha too and members condemned the brutal incident. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien described the incident as “most shameful for every Keralite.”