THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Congress MLA M Vincent who has been arrested on the charge of rape based on a statement given by a 51-year-old woman, who attempted suicide in Thiruvananthapuram, was sent to police custody till Wednesday 4 pm. Neyyattinkara magistrate court rejected the bail plea of Vincent. Though the police requested for five days custody, the court allowed only for a day. The court asked the police to give the details of MLA’s arrest to his counsel.
A case was registered against Vincent on charges of stalking, rape and abetment of suicide after the woman’s husband alleged that his wife tried to end her life by overdosing on sleeping pills as she was allegedly sexually harassed by the Kovalam MLA.
Since an MLA was involved in the case, the government appointed Kollam city police commissioner S Ajeetha Begum as the investigating officer in the case. She visited the private hospital at Neyyatinkara where the woman is under treatment and recorded her statement.
The police took the statement of the MLA’s on Saturday. Meanwhile, an audio clip of an alleged telephonic conversation between Vincent and the complainant’s brother about settling the case amicably was leaked to the media. Begum said the audio clip would be sent for detailed examination. The complainant’s mobile phone would also be examined.
Vincent has, meanwhile, filed a complaint before the police chief requesting a detailed probe into an alleged conspiracy in the case. He alleged that local CPM leader Frederic Shaji and the woman’s brother, who is also a CPM activist, were both at her residence when she allegedly attempted suicide. It was local CPM activists, who took her to the hospital in an ambulance.
