VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and 37th ward corporator candidate Vinod Jain was arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 14-year-old girl, Bhavanipuram police said on Sunday. The girl had jumped to her death from the five-storey Lotus Legend Apartments at Kummaripalem on Saturday evening, allegedly after she had been sexually harassed for two months. Jain, too, has been residing in the same building.
Police said a note found in the girl’s schoolbag accused Jain of harassing her while using the elevator or playing in the cellar. “I did not tell you in the first place because I am so ashamed of this thing,” the letter, purportedly written by the girl, read. “If this is another problem in my life, I would not try to kill myself. But this matter is one I could not even handle,” the letter said.
The girl further named Jain in the letter. “The thing is Vinod Jain (G-43). He is the one behind this. He is sexually harassing me for the past two months. He kept on touching me inappropriate manner [sic],” the death note revealed.
Police said a case was registered based on a complaint by the girl’s family. Jain has been charged under IPC 306 (abetment of suicide) and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.
“I love you, mom,” her last words uttered twice
“My granddaughter greeted me and my daughter while we went for a walk around 4 pm. She hugged her mother tight and said ‘I love you, mom’ twice. Minutes later we came to know that she had committed suicide. Vinod Jain sexually harassed my granddaughter in such a way that we could not speak,” her grandfather Manikyala Rao said
Cops seal Vinod’s house
“Soon after the suicide note was found we took the accused and his family members into custody and sealed his house. The accused Vinod Jain tried to molest the girl on several occasions,” West Zone ACP K Hanumantha Rao said
After arrest, Vinod Jain suspended from TDP
“Soon after the suicide note was found we took the accused and his family members into custody on Sunday morning. The accused Vinod Jain tried to molest the girl on several occasions. Afraid of complaining against him, the girl cried in silence and took the extreme step since she could bear the torment,” West Zone ACP K Hanumantha Rao said. After recording Jain’s arrest, police sealed his house. “We will inspect his house to find if there is any evidence pertaining to the girl’s claims of sexual assault,” the ACP added.
Expressing shock over the incident, Home Minister M Sucharita said the girl’s suicide note reflected her anguish. She directed the police to thoroughly investigate the case and take action against the accused as per the law.
Earlier in the day, YSRC senior leader and State Women’s Commission Chairperson Vasireddy Padma and others visited the mortuary at Vijayawada GGH and expressed their condolences to the bereaved family members. “Whoever may be the accused, the government is very serious about the incident and will ensure justice to the family by punishing the accused,” Padma said.
Later in the evening, YSRC leaders led by Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao, Devineni Avinash carried out a candlelight rally from KR Market to Potti Sriramulu Statue and raised slogans against TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu and his party leaders. “Opposition party leaders has no right to talk about women safety as its leaders are accused in various cases,” Srinivasa Rao said. Soon after the arrest, TDP Vijayawada city president Nettam Raghuram suspended Vinod Jain from the party.