Monson Mavunkal, the controversial self-styled antique dealer who was the other day convicted and sentenced to life term by a court for sexually assaulting a minor girl, has  on Monday  raised serious allegations against Rustom, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of the Crime Branch wing of Kerala police.

Monson alleged that Rustom has asked  him  to testify against K Sudhakaran,  Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president confirming that the state Congress chief was present at one of the locations where she was raped by Mavunkal.

He further said that  the DSP resorted to threats, warning him that harm would come to his wife and children if such a statement was not given. In addition to the threats, the DSP reportedly subjected Monson’s family to humiliation, Monson alleged.

The convict made these allegations when he was presented before the court on Monday  through video conference. It was Rustom who  had investigated the case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) against Monson.

 Incidentally, it was Rustom himself who had taken Monson into custody and escorted him to jail after he was convicted in the POCSO case on Saturday.

“On the way, we stopped at a petrol pump near the Crime Branch office at Kalamassery and Rustom asked me to testify against Sudhakaran. He spoke to me in an insulting and threatening manner. The DySP also compelled me to state that Sudhakaran had collected Rs 25 lakh from me,” Monson told the court.

Monson also told the court that two other police men who accompanied him from the jail were witness to this incident. Responding to Monson’s shocking revelations, the court directed him to file a formal complaint regarding the matter to the court through the Jail Superintendent.

The allegations against the  police officer, who  had investigated the case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act(POCSO) against Monson have added a new twist to the case and these  have  raised serious doubt over the impartiality of the investigating officers of the state police.

On Sunday, CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan said that the minor victim of the rape case  in which  the controversial antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal was sentenced to life term  on Saturday, has told the  Crime Branch that Sudhakaran was present when she was sexually assaulted by Mavunkal Speaking to media persons here, MV Govindan claimed that Sudhakaran was present at one of the locations where she was raped by Mavunkal and that she has stated that Sudhakaran didn’t intervene to stop the  harassment.

“Based on this, the crime branch has stated that the KPCC chief will be questioned in the POCSO case,”  the CPI-M Kerala secretary said on Sunday  However, the Crime branch  has refuted  Govindan’s  claim and clarified that  the minor victim of the rape case  in which  the controversial antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal was sentenced to life term  on Saturday, has not made any statement referring to KPCC chief K Sudhakaran. Sudhakaran was summoned in a separate cheating case involving Monson, not in relation to the POCSO case, the Crime branch clarified.