Thiruvananthapuram: The Additional District and Sessions court on Thursday rapped a woman who allegedly bobbitised godman Swami Gangeshananda for seeking a CBI probe in the case. The Judge, T K Minimol, dismissed the plea, in the afternoon, citing that it was not maintainable. Earlier in the day, the court rapped the woman and counsel for wasting the court’s time with petitions that were not maintainable. It accepted the prosecution argument that the government was the authority to handover the case to the CBI.
The 23-year-old woman appeared in the court personally with a private lady advocate. The judge pointed out that the complainant had no authority to engage an advocate other than the prosecutor. Though a private advocate can be engaged under relevant section of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, it needs prior permission from the court. The lawyer also has to work in tandem with the prosecutor. However, due procedures were not reportedly followed in the cases.
The woman, a law student, had recently retracted from her first statement that she allegedly bobbitised the swami to thwart a rape attempt. She alleged that it was a story fabricated by the police and told the defence lawyer that the Swami was a ‘father-like’ figure for her. The Pettah police had earlier this week handed over the probe to the Crime Branch.
