Thiruvananthapuram: A police officer, who allegedly posed indecent questions when a gangrape victim approached him to register a complaint, was suspended on Monday, even as opposition UDF demanded action against a CPI-M functionary for "disclosing" the name of the woman.
Circle Inspector of Peramangalam police station in Thrissur district M V Manikantan was suspended by IGP M R Ajit Kumar pending inquiry, police said.
Kumar conducted a preliminary probe into the allegation levelled by the victim that the police officer had asked her "indecent questions" about the crime.
CPI(M) has suspended its Wadakancherry Municipal Councillor Jayanthan and another party worker in connection with the gangrape allegations made by the 33-year-old woman, who had along with her husband narrated the trauma she underwent two years ago to the media here.
Actor and social activitst Bhagyalakshmi, who was instrumental in bringing the crime to light in her Facebook post, criticised the police officer for posing such questions.
Meanwhile, Congress-led UDF today demanded that a case be registered against CPI(M)'s Thrissur District Secretary K Radhakrishnan for allegedly disclosing to the media the name of the gangrape victim.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding that a case be registered against Radhakrishnan, a former minister and Speaker, as he had "deliberately" named the victim.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the party had promptly acted when the allegations were levelled.
"We will make sure such things which are not correct are not allowed," he told reporters here.
He also said the Thrissur District Secretary should not have revealed the victim's name. CPI(M) Politbureau member Brinda Karat said that naming the victim was a "mistake".
"We are not supposed to name the victim. So it was a mistake to name the victim," she said in Delhi.
Police have recorded the statements of the woman and her husband.
In another related development, Wadakancherry MLA Anil Akkara complained to the DGP that the victim's statement had been leaked.
He said the phones of woman police officers who took the victim's statement should be verified.
The woman had appeared before media here, alleging that she had been gang raped by four persons, including by the CPI(M) councillor, two years ago and was being harassed.
