Leader of the Oppostion in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan on Friday expressed concern over the delay in registering an FIR against former MLA P T Kunju Muhammed following a sexual harassment complaint submitted by a survivor to the chief minister .
Speaking to the media on the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) Puthuyuga Yatra in Kozhikode on Friday, Satheesan said the delay in registering an FIR reflected the double standards of the ruling front in handling complaints against its own.
The Opposition leader said he felt embarrassed to think that such incidents were happening in Kerala, a state that frequently claims to uphold women’s safety. He pointed out that although the woman had submitted a complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on November 24, the FIR was registered only on December 8. ”Why this different attitude towards those close to the government? Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan heads the home department. He received the complaint and must explain why there was a delay,” Satheesan said, adding, ”Such things should not happen in Kerala.”
Meanwhile, the complainant, Dr. Asha Achi Joseph, said the assault by Kunjumuhammed was deliberate and that despite filing the complaint with the Chief Minister, the police did not register an FIR until the news was aired by TV channels.
In a write-up published in a Malayalam daily, Asha said many people advised her to remain silent. What is needed is not sympathy but solidarity of the society.
She further said that she was humiliated not in a mysterious alley or a dark and isolated place, but while performing official duties at the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, a government-owned cultural institution that professes progressive values. “When the words ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ are used to describe themselves, it feels like society is trying to erase even the basic rights of an individual,” she contended.
The case is that Asha Achi, a jury member during the selection of films for the Kerala International Film Festival, misbehaved in a hotel room. PT Kunjumuhammed was the chairman of the jury for the selection of films for the IFFK.
Asha’s complaint is that Kunjumuhammed came to the room and behaved in an indecent manner when she returned to the hotel after the screening.