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Former IPS officer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader R Sreelekha has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly revealing the identities of sexual abuse survivors, including that of a minor rape survivor, through her YouTube channel, Sasneham Sreelekha. The police-turned-politician is currently a ward councillor in Thiruvananthapuram.
The FIR was registered by the Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, February 26, based on a complaint filed by activist R Jayachandran, Secretary of Civil Rights and Social Justice, a human rights organisation. According to The Hindu, she has been booked under relevant sections of the POCSO Act and Section 72 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which prohibits the printing or publishing of any matter that reveals the identity of a victim of sexual offences.
In videos uploaded to her YouTube channel in 2022 and 2024, Sreelekha allegedly referred to the Kiliroor and Kaviyoor sexual assault cases. She is accused of disclosing details that could lead to the identification of the survivors and of mentioning the names of the survivors’ parents.
Speaking to the media later, Sreelekha said the POCSO charges against her would not stand as the alleged minor was an adult, according to her.
“I learned that the mentioned case was the Kiliroor incident. That case was investigated by the team led by me. Later it was handed over to the CBI. Although the FIR mentioned the girl was a minor, later investigation revealed that she was an adult. When she died, her age was around 20. So, she is not a minor. So, the POCSO case won’t stand,” she said.
She further alleged that the complaint was politically motivated and said that since entering politics, she has been subjected to character assassination and criticism. She claimed that the case has been filed against her in view of the upcoming Assembly elections. “As a mother, a woman and a former police officer, I won't do anything against women or a survivor in any case,” she said.