2 Kerala police officials suspended for seeking ₹25 lakh to cover up woman cop’s rape by senior

The Home Department has suspended two police officials; an Assistant Commandant and a senior civil police officer (SCPO) on charges of covering up alleged rape of a woman cop by a police inspector. They demanded an amount of  ₹25 lakh from the police official who allegedly raped the woman cop.

Starmon R Pillai, Assistant Commandant, KAP 3 battalion and Anu Antony, senior civil police officer, have been placed under suspension pending inquiry, and a departmental probe has been ordered against the officials. 

The Home Department suspended the officials based on a report by the state police chief. According to the order issued by the department, the incident happened in November 2024. A woman cop was subjected to alleged sexual abuse by her colleague, who was employed as a sub-inspector on November 16, 2024.

The survivor confided in Anu Antony about the abuse. Anu was employed as an office writer in Cyber Operations. The survivor's local guardian was Starmon R Pillai, and he was also informed about the incident three days later.

The survivor was taken for medical examination. As per the order, Starmon R Pillai demanded ₹25 lakh from the sub-inspector who allegedly raped the woman cop. The DGP has reported that the survivor did not know about this.

The Home department noted in the order that Starmon Pillai, who had over 25 years of service in the police hi-tech cell, acted with malicious intention by demanding ₹25 lakh from the perpetrator to settle the matter instead of taking legal action. 

"Anu Antony, who came to know of sexual abuse, did not recommend legal measures and instead contacted the survivor repeatedly over the phone. Anu Antony met with the survivor after she returned from medical examination, collected details, and became part of the move to settle the case on payment of  ₹25 lakh by sharing the information with the sub-inspector responsible for sexual abuse. Both the officials' actions have brought disrepute and shame to the police department," the order noted.

The order observed that there was grave lapse on the part of both the officials who should have taken exemplary legal steps after coming to know about an incident of rape. Instead of offering legal assistance, they demanded money for a settlement, according to the order. 

The Home Department has directed the state police chief to submit a panel of officials within a week to select the investigation official.