THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seven years after the sensational Kiliroor sex scandal erupted in the state, the CBI court here on Monday found five of the seven accused persons guilty in the case under various charges, including conspiracy, gang rape, procreation of a minor girl and criminal intimidation.Those held guilty are Praveen of Chertala, Manoj of Thiruvankulam, Lata Nair of Mallappally, Binu alias Kochumon and Prasanth of Eroor. The first accused Omanakutty had turned approver and the seventh accused Soman was acquitted owing to lack of evidence.CBI Special Judge TSP Moosath will pronounce the sentence on Wednesday. The maximum punishment can be rigorous imprisonment for ten years. CBI Special Prosecutor K P Satheesan has sought the maximum punishment. The prosecution had charged the accused from two to seven, including Soman of Kumily, with soliciting Shari S Nair, a minor girl from Kiliroor near Kottayam, by offering a role in tele-serial for abusing her sexually at various places. The circumstantial evidence as well as the deposition by Omanakutty, the first accused- turned- approver became vital in the case. The victim had died on November 13, 2004, in a private hospital at Kottayam, after giving birth to a girl on August 15, 2004.The case was taken over by the CBI after investigations by the police and the Crime Branch.The ‘VIP visit’ as alleged by Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan turned the case into a high-profile one, as names of many prominent personalities got tagged with the case.But the ‘VIP’ got fizzled out during the trial as Dr. Shankaran, who treated Shari in the private hospital, clarified that her condition worsened after the visit of many VIPs during treatment. During the trial, Praveen had admitted that he is the father of her child.
Comments
0 comment