Sex scandals and goonda activities leave Kerala CPM red-faced

KOCHI: Alleged involvement of its district-level leaders in sex scandals and goonda activities has become a source of embarrassment for the ruling CPM in the state.

A Thrissur-based woman has come out with the allegation that she was sexually exploited by a CPM leader in Vadakkancherry. She said her husband's friends, including the CPM leader, raped her.

The incident that happened in 2014 when Jayanthan, a CPM councillor in Vadakkancherry, and three others told her that her husband, who was admitted in a de-addiction centre, was unwell and then took her to a secluded place and raped her. But they reported the matter to the police only after three months. The police did not take the complaint seriously.

Dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi, who wrote about the incident recently in her social media column, said the police instead of helping her had hurt her even more by asking vulgar and unwanted questions.

She said that the chief minister's office had contacted her and assured her that the culprits in the incident will be booked. However, CPM leader Jayanthan said the allegations against him were baseless. He said that the husband of the woman who has now made the allegation, had borrowed money from him. On being asked to return it, the two have come out with the allegation against him, Jayanthan said.

In another incident in Ernakulam, CPM district committee member Zakkir Husasain is under police scanner for his alleged involvement in a kidnapping case. The charge against him is that he, with the help of goondas, kidnapped an industrialist and threatened him.

The police have not been able to nab the party worker in question. The party has not yet taken any action against him.