Kochi: Two persons have been taken into custody in connection with the rape and brutal murder of a 30-year-old dalit woman at Perumbavoor that sparked protest marches by students and rights activists across Kerala today condemning the incident.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy described the crime as “shocking” and said the culprits will be brought to book.
Police said two persons were taken into custody and were being questioned by a police team, headed by Ernakulam Range IG Mahipal Yadav. However, it was not yet known whether they are the real culprits. No details of the ongoing investigation have been revealed by police.
According to police, the woman, a law college student, hailing from a poor family was raped and brutally assaulted using sharp edged weapons before being murdered at her house at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district on April 28. She was found dead in a pool of blood at her one room home at 8 PM on April 28 by her mother when she returned from work.
Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Caste and Tribes registered a suo motu case into the incident and asked police to submit a report on the progress of the probe by May 28 while the Kerala Human Rights Commission ordered that the probe be handed over to the Crime branch.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the case on the basis of media reports, state Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice J B Koshy issued a direction to the state DGP in this regard.
“Kerala is shocked by the brutal murder of a young woman. The culprits will be brought to book and the severest punishment will be ensured to those who involved into the incident,” Chandy said.
Condemning the crime as a ‘heinous one’, chairman of the state commission for scheduled castes and tribes, Justice P N Vijayakumar said he has sought formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident.
“The commission suo-motu registered a case into the incident based on the reports of the vernacular and national dailies. I asked DGP to form a SIT to probe into the case. I also asked police to submit a report of the progress of the case by May 28,” Justice Vijayakumar told PTI in Thiruvanathapuram.
The commission also suggested that special mobile squads such as those operating in Wayanad, Palakkad and Kasaragod be formed for the safety of SCs and STs, in all districts of the state for the security of women and children irrespective of caste barriers.
Women’s rights activists and political leaders, cutting across party lines, have voiced concern against the murder which they believe was a first of its kind in the state for the sheer brutality of the crime.
