From 11 in the morning on Monday till the evening, 34-year-old Krishnavani sat in front of the Kerala Secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram, with a placard hung around her neck. It read, “I want justice.”
Placed in front of her was a box in which she urged passersby to generously donate money, so that she can pay a bribe to the officials at the Chirayankeezhu village office.
The Thiruvananthapuram native alleged that officials at the Chirayankeezhu village office forged documents for land she had purchased to show a different owner, and demanded that she bribe them to resolve her situation, not in cash but with sexual favours.
Speaking to The News Minute, Krishnavani said that her protest was against two officials at the village office and an officer at the crime branch – who had forged documents to frustrate a case she filed.
In 2012, a local CPI (M) worker Jayakumar filed a police complaint that land which Krishnavani bought in 2011 belonged to him.
“We bought the land from one Sreedharan, but Jayakumar claimed that we had encroached on his land. To back his claims, he even submitted a receipt for tax he allegedly paid on our land. The officials at the village office created documents showing him as the owner of the land,” alleged Krishnavani.
“Following this, I filed a police complaint at Chirayankeezhu station, which was later taken up by the crime branch. It was revealed in the investigation that Jayakumar had indeed forged the documents. However, when I enquired a few weeks back, the crime branch DySP VS Aji said that the chargesheet in the case has already been filed at the court, which was not the case,” she stated.
Krishnavani alleged that the DySP was involved in Jayakumar’s plan to ensure that the relevant documents in the village office are misplaced. “I don’t expect that my protest will shame or change their attitude. All I want is for the public to know the truth,” Krishnavani said.
She alleged that the officers in the village office would talk to her suggestively, saying that her issues would be solved if she “obliged”.
“Once an officer at the village office asked for a kiss and said that I should pay him a visit when he is alone at home. This open protest is my answer to him,” Krishnavani claimed.
She said that she would deposit the money she collected in the name of the Vigilance Director.
“I won’t pay a bribe with my own hands, not in terms of money or in any other form they want. Isn’t Vigilance supposed to fight against corruption? This money is my contribution to that,” Krishnavani said.
She is set to intensify her protest in the coming days.
However, DySP VS Aji told The News Minute that Krishnavani's current protest was politically motivated.
“I have already filed chargesheet in the case a couple of months ago showing that Jayakumar had indeed forged the documents, and the investigation was carried out in a transparent manner. This is a closed case. Now Krishnavani wants more officials to be added in the accused list. I believe that is her motive behind raising baseless allegations against officials including me,” he said.