Suryanelli girl didn’t indulge in child prostitution: HC

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has said that the Suryanelli girl who was subjected to repeated rape had not indulged in child prostitution. Justice Basanth, who was a member of the division bench that had acquitted 35 accused persons in the case, in a sting operation by a private TV channel some months ago was heard saying that the girl had taken to child prostitution.

The court observed that the girl had fallen into a trap. “There is no point in disbelieving the words of such a girl who had been in trauma. The main accused in the case, Dharmarajan, was constantly threatening the girl’s father and mother and thus the girl had to succumb to his wishes,” observed the bench comprising Justices M L Francis and K T Shankaran.   

The bench said: “The convicts do not deserve any leniency of law. The fact that the prime accused is an advocate increases the intensity of the crime. The girl didn’t get any money and even if money was given to her, she did not accept it,” the bench said.

The bench asked whether the girl could be called a pervert, just because she went out with the person she loved. The court also rejected the convicts’ claim that the girl had the opportunity to escape. “The girl was kept under detention and being raped and the convicts had done their best to ensure that the girl did not escape,” it said.

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