Perversion no doubt, but a crime is a crime

By O J George

Kottayam: No doubt the incident reported from what should be hallowed precincts of Mahatma Gandhi University is shameful. If the allegation is proved, it would invite punishment on many counts.

K.A.Joseph, the person who tried to molest or has molested a nursing student, a married woman, is at large.

The CPM-affiliated employees association has disowned him.The university has already suspended him from service as section officer.

Now there should be no impediment in Joseph surrendering before the police. He can definitely take recourse to the law, for ensuring protection of his personal rights.

Mind you, Shiney Ahuja, the Cassanova-looking Bollywood actor, is behind bars now for raping his maid servant at home when his wife and child were away.

He also will get the protection of the law, if the allegation is untrue.

Therefore, there is no point for Joseph to remain in hiding.

After the issue has come out in the open, there can be no denying the fact that there is an allegation, a very serious charge of duping a girl who had approached him for re-registration of her nursing course.

She was trapped into a vehicle saying there were some problems with the nursing council where he would take her.

The girl told him she would set right all those problems. But all on a sudden she was taken into the vehicle which sped off towards Ernakulam side. In fact, she was asked to report to him on the particular day, all alone.

The family members of the girl also erred in assessing the situation. They should not have allowed her to meet this man alone.

Her husband and her brother were planning to come to her later. That was the great mistake they had committed.

They might have thought that, after all she was going to the sprawling university campus where thousands of employees work and there are hundreds of departmental students as well as a daily crowd of hundreds of visitors.

Perverts can find opportunities even in a crowd. That was what everyone did not think of.

Anyway the man got the girl in the car and allegedly mistreated her during the journey.

When her husband called her over the mobile phone, she tried to explain the situation, and the offender dropped her at Kanakkari. Later, she rejoined her husband and brother.

On her submitting a complaint, the section officer was suspended from service. Her re-registration was also granted by the university.

There are so many serious issues involved. Illegal confinement, molesting, intention to rape and so many other criminal provisions would surface.

These are perversions, no doubt, but a crime is a crime.

Years ago, a security officer of the university was packed off when it was revealed that the air-conditioned chamber of the vice-chancellor was used by prostitutes to enthrall their customers at night.

Now Joseph has no chance to escape facing the facts. He should make himself available to the police or court. Let the law take its own course.