THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has no clue as to how many of the 36 people convicted in the infamous Suryanelli case, in which a 16-year-old girl was kidnapped and gangraped, are still in jail. The revelation was made in an RTI reply obtained by TNIE from the Kottayam Crime Branch in the case which is set to come up before the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, citing security reasons, the survivor, now 41, is planning to move court seeking cancellation of the bail granted to third accused Dharmarajan by the Supreme Court in 2021.
In its reply to TNIE on three specific questions seeking details of the accused and those given parole/still in jail, the Crime Branch said no such data was available. It said two appeals (one filed by the prosecution challenging Dharmarajan’s bail plea and another by 10th accused Jacob Stephen seeking bail) have been pending before the SC since 2015. Jacob, a former Congress leader, has been out on parole since 2020 citing health issues. An official at Poojappura Central Jail said Dharmarajan, a lawyer, got bail in 2021 at the peak of the pandemic.
Suryanelli case: ‘Survivor, family live in constant fear’
“Stephen got parole in March 2020 during Covid first wave, citing serious health issues. Though an appeal against Dharmarajan’s bail plea is pending before the Supreme Court, he managed to get bail last year,” said the official, who did not want to be named.
Dharmarajan is not eligible for bail as he is an accused in the serial rape case and was serving life imprisonment.
He had absconded once, when he was released on bail in 2002 and was nabbed only in 2013. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2014, nearly 18 years after the incident. However, he was granted bail considering the Covid situation in Poojappura Central Jail which had about 701 inmates at the time.
The RTI reply revealed that as per norms, the survivor’s permission is sought before parole is sanctioned.
Sources close to the survivor told TNIE that she had strongly opposed the move to grant Dharmarajan bail when the authorities approached her.
“She and her family live in constant fear of being under the watch of the convicts. She and Dharmarajan live just 20km apart. Her parents are restless every day, until she returns from office by evening. Dharmarajan’s bail should be revoked, as normalcy has been restored,” said a family member of the survivor.
Recalling horror
16-year-old kidnapped in 1996 at Suryanelli, gangraped for over 40 days
In 2000, a court found 35 persons guilty. HC overturned verdict in 2005. SC sets it aside in 2013