Adivasi woman in Nilgiris accuses the police of shielding man from sexual harassment charge
The Hindu
Adivasi woman demands justice under SC/ST Act after alleged sexual harassment by two men in Nilgiris ration shop.
An adivasi woman, who is alleged to have been sexually harassed by two men in a ration shop at Kinnakorai in the Nilgiris has demanded that they be booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The victim has also alleged that the police have refused to register a case against one of the men and trying to get her to compromise and withdraw her complaint.
The woman, belonging to the Kurumba adivasi community near Kinnakorai in Manjoor, is said to have visited the ration shop on December 20, 2023, when two men, identified as Manikandan and Karthik had sexually harassed her.
Karthik, who is a permanent employee at the ration shop, is from the majority, landowning community in the Nilgiris, said the victim, alleging that his connections with the local police has ensured that he has not been named as an accused in the case.
J.R. Mani, President of the Nilgiri Vulnerable Tribal Groups Federation, said there were other victims from the adivasi communities who were targeted by the two men in the past. “However, they were too scared to speak up,” he said, stating that the Manjoor police have registered a case only against Manikandan.
Lawyers assisting the victim have submitted petitions to the Chief Minister’s Cell, National Commission for Women, the DGP’s office, the Tamil Nadu SC/ST Commission, the district collector as well as the Superintendent of police, urging that the two men be booked for sexual harassment as well as under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
When contacted, Inspector of Police (Manjoor Station), Sivakumar, said that a case had been registered against Manikandan as he was the only person named in the complaint filed by the victim. “Manikandan has also been suspended from duty and has been told to not disturb the complainant in the future,” said Mr. Sivakumar.
The Election Commission of India will hold a press conference on June 3, a day before the counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha polls. Till the 2019 parliamentary polls, deputy election commissioners used to hold media briefings after each phase of polls, but the practice has been done away with.