KOCHI: Former DGP R Sreelekha has drawn flak for her comments that there was a lack of evidence against Dileep in the 2017 actor assault case. Several prominent personalities on Monday criticised her for making the remarks when the case is being probed by the police.
The victim's relatives and friends also reacted strongly against Sreelekha, who made the comments on her YouTube channel on Sunday.
Without naming Sreelekha, the victim's brother said she was trying to whitewash what Dileep has committed. "Feeling pity for her. She did not realise that the reputation she earned in the last several years had been tarnished in one moment that it cannot be regained again. She has created a funeral pyre in the hearts of several persons through her comments," he wrote on one of his social media pages.
Stating that she was surprised by Sreelekha's comments, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) secretary and screenwriter Didi Damodaran said that a "woman has taken an anti-women stand". Didi said that people easily understand whom Sreelekha was supporting. "Not just as a woman but the positions she served also have to be considered. The salary she drew was from the taxpayers' money and she should have acted more responsibly.
According to Didi, all revelations of Sreelekha are an example of how an empowered woman becomes an agent of patriarchy. "She could not see how a victim becomes a survivor here. I think she is not aware that entire Kerala is behind the campaign supporting the survivor. An earlier interview of Sreelekha was equally alarming. She claimed that when one of her officers approached a woman police officer with sexual intention, instead of taking any action, she somehow saved the woman. If an officer cannot take action in such a situation, she should have resigned then," Didi said.
Newly elected Thrikkakara MLA Uma Thomas said that she was with the survivor. "A person who served at a high position cannot be seen as low. I cannot even comment on why she (Sreelekha) responded in such a way. Let the public evaluate why such revelations came now. Since the matter is subjudice, I cannot comment further," she said.
Human Rights activist Jomon Puthenpurackal said there were similar controversies surrounding Sreelekha before. "During her career in the police, she has proven that she is an expert in making fake stories," he said.
P Balachandrakumar who made several revelations against Dileep leading to further investigation in the case dismissed Sreelekha's claims saying that she has given an immature statement. "It is a planned attempt to regain the popularity of Dileep," he said.
Actor-and-dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi said that revelations of Sreelekha were quite unusual. "Even if she is advocating for the accused persons in the case, she made such revelations as part of her 75th episode of a programme presented on her YouTube channel. She retired from service several months back but she is disclosing about the case now," Bhagyalakshmi said.