Kozhikode (Ker): Two local CPI(M) leaders have been arrested for allegedly raping a fellow woman comrade of the ruling Marxist party in this north Kerala district, police said. The accused, identified as P P Baburaj and T P Lijesh, were arrested on charges of rape, trespassing of property and criminal intimidation of the complainant woman, who was a member of the Vadakara branch committee of the CPI(M), they said.
A Sreenivas, Kozhikode Rural SP, told media that both were arrested from Karimbanapalam near here early Monday morning. However, local police said they were not aware of the political background of the two. The victim, married and a mother of two children, had alleged that Baburaj barged into her house and raped her three months ago.
Following this, he continued to sexually abuse her several times, each time blackmailing to expose the matter to her husband and others, according to her complaint which also said Lijesh also raped her threatening the same. Tired of the harassment by the two, the victim approached the police and filed her complaint on Saturday.
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The victim has been subjected to a medical examination and a detailed statement recorded by the police prior to the arrest of the two culprits, police sources added. As per media reports, though the party leaders tried to find a compromise in the case, the victim did not concede to the proposal and filed a complaint with the police.
Following the arrest, the CPI(M) had suspended the two, party sources said. Baburaj was a branch secretary of the CPI(M) while Lijesh, a regional secretary of the party's youth wing DYFI.
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PTI
