Kollam: Prasanna P M, mother of Kollam Assistant Public Prosecutor S Aneeshya (41) who ended her life over alleged workplace harassment, has approached the High Court of Kerala seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into her daughter's death.
The mother said she moved the High Court seeking a CBI investigation because the LDF government was not giving permission to the state police to initiate an investigation against the accused, even 53 days after Aneeshya's death.
On Monday, March 11, the government transferred the case to the State Crime Branch in Thiruvananthapuram from the Kollam District Crime Branch but did not give permission to register an FIR under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows police to investigate the role of the accused in a case and invoke relevant charges such as abetment to suicide against them.
As of now, Kerala Police have registered a case only under Section 174 of the CrPC, which allows police to conduct an inquest and find the cause of an unnatural death.
High Court Judge P G Ajith Kumar, who took up Prasanna's petition, sought the state government's view and adjourned the case to another date.
Aneeshya, who was the Assistant Public Prosecutor of Munsiff and Magistrate Court in Kollam's Paravur town, ended her life on January 21. She left behind an archive of voice messages and a 19-page suicide note in which she held Kollam Deputy Director of Prosecution Abdul Jalil -- the top prosecuting officer in the district -- and her colleague at Paravur court Assistant Public Prosecutor Shyam Krishna K R responsible for her death.
Aneeshya had listed out in detail how the two allegedly harassed her, with Abdul Jalil reportedly calling her a "disturbance" at a meeting of all 18 assistant public prosecutors of Kollam district on January 19. He also allegedly read out her confidential report publicly in the meeting. On January 20, she wrote a suicide note in which she wrote of the incidents that led to the January 19 meeting, and ended her life the following day.
According to her family, Abdul Jalil was reportedly irked by an RTI query that sought to know if assistant public prosecutors in Kollam were working on non-court days and if they sought permission before leaving their jurisdiction.
Paravur Police registered a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and initiated an investigation.
Later, the case was transferred to Kollam District Crime Branch of Kerala Police and was investigated by DySP Shibu.
In the last week of February, the officer submitted the investigation report to the Kerala government's Director General of Prosecution (DGP) T A Shaji and sought "legal advice" on how to proceed with the case. Three weeks on, the DG of Prosecution Shaji has not replied.
Meanwhile, the government handed over the investigation into Aneeshya's death to the State Crime Branch's Thiruvananthapuram Unit, headed by Superintendent of Police S Madhusoodanan. He has made DySP Sajeev Kumar the investigating officer of the case. "We took over the case three days ago and till now we have not got any response from the office of the DGP," said Kumar. The Kollam Crime Branch sought to know the charges that can be invoked against the accused, he said. "We are waiting for the reply," said the DySP.
So, though the State Crime Branch re-registered the FIR, there is no case against the accused. To be sure, the Department of Home suspended Abdul Jalil and Shyam Krishna from service, pending inquiry.
Meanwhile, Adv Jose Kundra, who filed the 19-question RTI petition on behalf of Aneeshya, said he received a show-cause notice from the Kollam Bar Association asking him to explain why action should not be taken against him for defaming Kollam Public Prosecutor Vinod V.
On the day of the meeting, in which Aneeshya was reportedly humiliated, Vinod also called her to his office and insulted her, Adv Jose alleged. He said he was speaking to Aneeshya when Public Prosecutor Vinod gestured for her to come to his office. He alleged Vinod threatened to transfer her to Kasaragod if she did not get the RTI petition withdrawn.
Vinod denied the allegations. Adv Jose said he sought the footage from the CCTV cameras on the premises of the Collectorate to prove his point. But the District Judge and the District Collector replied to his RTI saying the Crime Branch took the footage away as part of its investigation.
