Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister
Pinarayi Vijayan said in the
assembly that government has sought legal opinion from the director general of prosecution on the action taken by police against the theatre owner of Edappal in Malappuram who was instrumental in bringing the sexual abuse case of a minor before authorities.
“According to the reports I have received, the police officer arrested the theatre owner without discussing the case or seeking permission from his seniors. Hence, the government has sought legal opinion to know whether the arrest was proper,” said Vijayan.
Opposition leader
Ramesh Chennithala, who raised the issue as a submission, wanted the chief minister to suspend the police officer who arrested the theatre owner. Owner of Sharada theatre, Satheesh was arrested for hiding the details of incident from the police. The case was registered under Section 19 (B) of Pocso Act.
Chennithala alleged that it was a heinous act as the theatre owner was arrested and no action was taken against the sub-inspector who failed to act on the complaint given by Childline. The incident happened on April 18 and the theatre owner reported the incident to Childline on April 25. The next day, Childline filed a complaint but police did not act until the media reported the issue on May 12.
“There was no need for legal opinion. Police have exacted their revenge on the theatre owner; they had even questioned him 10 times at the police station. This was the harassment he faced for pointing out a case of child abuse. Police is losing trust with each passing day,” said Chennithala.
However, Vijayan made it clear that he cannot act without taking a legal opinion. “The government will take a decision only after a legal opinion is received. We chose this step to know whether the action taken was right or not,” he said.
As the chief minister was unwilling to take action against the police officer, the opposition walked out of the House in protest.