KOLLAM: In what could be the nastiest manifestation of neighbourhood bickering, a 73-year-old woman was trapped in a sexual abuse complaint filed by the minor son of her neighbour allegedly to settle some past scores.
The woman had to spend 45 days in jail as the police invoked charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on the complaint by the 14-year-old boy. The woman, who is out on bail now, has lodged a complaint with the chief minister seeking a comprehensive probe into the case, including the incidents that led to framing of a false case against a Scheduled Caste woman.
“Around three months ago, I reported illicit brewing of arrack at my neighour’s farmhouse to the excise officials. They raided the farmhouse. After a few days, a false Pocso case was filed against me complaining that I had sexually abused my neighbour’s son,” Sreemathi, a native of Kulathupuzha, told TNIE. Sreemathi, who lives alone in her house at Kulathupuzha, said she knew the boy as a kid in the neighbourhood.
She had no clue about the case even after the arrest. She was expecting that her son would approach the police and bail her out. The son who learned about the charges abandoned the elderly mother, citing that her act was an insult to him. “He is not speaking to me now. He thinks that I have committed a mistake. But my two daughters are supporting me. I am innocent. The agony I am suffering at this age is unbearable,” said Sreemathi.
“I was taken into custody when I returned home after vaccination. The police took me to the station saying that they would leave me after completing a few formalities. Later on the same day, I was produced in court and remanded in custody,” she said. Sreemathi said she was not told anything regarding the case in between these procedures.
When contacted, officers at Kulathupuzha station said the police can’t comment on the case as it is sub judice.