Mystery deepens over alleged gang rape of pilgrim in Palani lodge, TN cops arrive in Kannur

Representative image. Photo: Shutterstock

Thalassery/Palani: Contradictory statements have deepened the mystery surrounding the alleged gang rape of a Kerala-based Tamil woman at a lodge in Palani last month. With the statements of the lodge owner and others at the temple town contradicting the version of the rape survivor and her husband, police are now trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the incident.

The 40-year-old woman had arrived in Palani for pilgrimage along with her husband from Kannur in Kerala.

The couple had lodged a complaint at the Thalassery police station in Kannur district alleging that she was tortured and raped by an unidentified gang at Palani. The alleged incident happened on June 20, according to the Kerala Police.

It was alleged that a three-member gang forcefully took her to a lodge when her husband had gone to buy food, and sexually assaulted her on June 19. Her husband had then accused the Tamil Nadu police of inaction despite reporting the crime to the nearest police station.

The Tamil Nadu police, who checked the CCTV visuals and medical records, could not find any evidence to support the statement of the woman that she was assaulted. Police have conducted a forensic test in the lodge room where the woman was allegedly targeted.

Senior officers of the Tamil Nadu police ordered the forensic test after investigators could not find any evidence suggesting the alleged crime. Police are also collecting more CCTV visuals. The couple may be taken to Tamil Nadu for collecting evidence.

In Kerala, the Thalassery police produced the woman before a magistrate and recorded her statement after she was discharged from the Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram.

The police had registered a case after the woman and her husband disclosed alleged incident public after returning to Kerala.

The Thalassery police will hand over the documents to their Tamil Nadu counterparts, who are now probing the case. Thalassery Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Moosa Vallikkadan has handed over the documents to Kannur City Police Commissioner R Elango.

Earlier the DSP had told IANS, "I have gone through the medical report at the Government Medical College, Kannur, but on the basis of that, there are no injuries as claimed by the woman. As the alleged incident had taken place on June 20, according to the complainants, the wounds could have healed also."

Meanwhile, a few officers from the Tamil Nadu police team that arrived in Kannur to record the statements of the couple are camping in Thalassery.

The couple are Tamilians based in Kannur, north Kerala.

As reported earlier the Tamil Nadu Police has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case. The SIT was formed after Kerala Police chief Anil Kant wrote a letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart C Shailendrababu seeking a detailed investigation and action against the apathy of the local police in registering the case.

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