Thiruvananthapuram: Pressure is mounting on the police to initiate action based on the Mangalam television channel report alleging that former transport minister A.K. Saseendran made a sleaze talk with a woman.
While state police chief Loknath Behera is still awaiting legal opinion on a petition filed by Congress MLA Anil Akkara on the incident, the Nationalist Youth Congress (NYC) lodged a petition with the state cyber police against the channel authorities.
Even as the state police is learnt to have taken a stand that there was no scope for registering a case suo motu against the former minister or the channel, experts point out that there was enough scope to initiate action against the minister on charges of outraging the modesty of a woman.
“There is enough scope to register suo motu action both against the channel as well as the minister based on the incident. While action could be taken against the channel under the IT Act, a case could be registered against the minister under IPC 354 for outraging modesty of a woman,” said a retired IPS office who pleaded anonymity.
He cited the instance of initiating police action against IUML leader P.K. Kunhalikutty on the basis of revelations of K.A. Rauf at a press conference.
NYC state president Mujeeb Rahuman said in the petition that the channel telecast the report knowing that it contained obscenity. He also alleged that the women who spoke to the minister was a staff at the channel as was part of the conspiracy. He sought action for cyber defamation, cyber stalking, hacking and forgery.
Meanwhile, sources said the government decision to appoint judicial commission on the matter did not impose any restriction on the police in acting on a criminal act.
