Charge sheet filed in Dalit woman’s rape-and-murder case

Kochi, Sep 17 (PTI) A special investigation team (SIT) ofKerala Police today filed the charge sheet in a court here inthe sensational rape-and-murder case of a Dalit woman atnearby Perumbavoor in April, three months after the arrest ofa migrant labourer. The charge sheet, submitted in the Ernakulam PrincipalSessions Court, named Ameerul Islam, a native of Assam who wasarrested in June, as the lone accused in the case and chargedhim with offences, including rape and murder. Ernakulam Rural SP PN Unnirajan, a key member in the SITheaded by ADGP B Sandhya, said the charge sheet was submittedafter conducting a "scientific and technical probe". The accused has been charged under various sections of theIPC, including 449 (house-trespass), 376 (punishment forrape), 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance ofevidence), besides relevant sections of the SC/ST (Preventionof Atrocities) Act, he said. Unnirajan said the police, which collected 125 pieces ofdocumentary evidence and around 75 exhibits, succeeded inbuilding "a strong case" against the accused and filing thecharge sheet within the 90-day mandatory period. There are 195 witnesses in the case, he added. "The SIT formed by the new (state) government probed thecase very well," Unnirajan told reporters at Aluva. Ameerul, a migrant labourer from Assam, was arrested onJune 16, 50 days after the gruesome murder of the 30-year-oldlaw student which became a major issue in the run-up to theKerala Assembly election in May. The woman, hailing from a poor family, was raped andbrutally assaulted with sharp weapons, before being murderedat her residence on April 28. The rape-and-murder case was in focus during the Assemblypolls campaigning with the opponents attacking the then UDFregime for the "tardy" progress in the investigation andfailure to nab the culprit. The LDF government, after coming to power in the state onMay 25, had changed the constitution of the investigating teamand entrusted the probe with ADGP Sandhya at its first Cabinetmeeting itself. Police had said a blood-stained chappal (slipper), foundfrom a canal near the victim’s residence, was one of the keypieces of evidence in zeroing in on the accused. A DNA test conducted on the saliva found from the bitemark on the victim’s back, the blood found on the chappal andthe lock of her room had confirmed the involvement of only oneperson in the crime, they had said. Over 100 police personnel were involved in a "scientific"probe into the incident. They questioned over 1,500 people andwent through over 20 lakh telephone call records beforezeroing in on the accused. PTI TGB VSRC