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The Thalassery, Kannur district of Kerala, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Fast Track Special Court on Friday, November 14, found former leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) K Padmarajan guilty of sexually assaulting a school student in Palathayi. According to reports, the court has confirmed that the charges of sexual assault and rape against Padmarajan had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. POCSO Fast Track Special Court Judge MT Jalaja Rani will pronounce the sentence on Saturday, November 15.
K Padmarajan, a 49-year-old man, was the BJP’s former Thrippangottur panchayat president and a teacher by profession. The student, a 10-year-old girl, was studying at his school. The complaint was that he sexually assaulted the student multiple times, including at the school toilet.
The POCSO case initially came to light in March 2020, when the Childline authorities in Thalassery approached the police. Subsequently, on March 18, a complaint was filed accusing Padmarajan. The complaint stated that Padmarajan abused the child multiple times between January and February in 2020.
On April 15, nearly a month after the complaint was filed, police arrested the accused. Initially, the case was registered by the Kannur police, and the accused was charged with Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the IPC and Sections 5 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
Later, the Crime Branch, a team led by S Sreejith, took over the case, and the stringent charges were dropped. In their chargesheet, the accused was only booked under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the IPC and Sections 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) and 82 (corporal punishment) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
This led to a protest in the state. Subsequently, the student’s mother approached the Kerala High Court. The mother said that she suspected that there had been high-handed political interference in the investigation process. Later, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) monitored by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) EJ Jayaraj, and led by Taliparamba Deputy Superintendent of Police TK Rathnakumar conducted an investigation and submitted a new chargesheet, including charges under the POCSO.