The Aluva Rural police station has registered a case of rape and criminal intimidation against a senior government pleader at the Kerala High Court, after he allegedly sexually assaulted a client several times at his office in Ernakulam’s Kadavanthra and her residence. The accused, PG Manu, has been charged with sections 376 (rape), 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides sections of the Information Technology Act. The office of the Advocate General of Kerala said on Thursday, November 30, that Manu has submitted his resignation, which has been forwarded to the Department of Law. An arrest is yet to be made.
Speaking to TNM, the complainant’s lawyer Padma Lakshmi said the woman had approached Manu seeking legal consultation for a case she filed in 2018, another heinous crime, which is yet to reach its conclusion. He first called her to her office and raped her on October 9, threatening her against telling anyone about what happened. He went on to attack her two more times, on October 24 and 29, besides shooting private photos and videos of her on his phone, said the complaint. After the police filed a First Information Report (FIR) on Thursday, the survivor had to undergo a medical examination.
Padma said that after the case was filed, Manu contacted the complainant’s family with a plea to settle the case and arrive at a compromise. In a recording of the call which TNM received, he can be heard lamenting, “Please don’t destroy my life, I am about to be selected for the judge’s panel. I will fall at your feet.” When the complainant’s suffering was pointed out to him, he claimed he will do “any compensation” that needs to be done.
“He is a powerful person with the potential to easily tamper with the evidence. Any delay in arrest could affect the complainant adversely,” Padma told TNM.