TRIVANDRUM, 12 January 2006 — A court in Kerala has acquitted all 16 accused in the Calicut ice cream parlor sex scandal that forced top Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader P.K. Kunhalikutty to resign as industries minister a year ago.
Assistant Principal Sessions Judge LR. Sathyan acquitted the defendants, including the former minister’s driver Aravindakshan and two former leftist city mayors, for lack of evidence.
The judge observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges framed against the defendants. He, however, posted for hearing on Jan. 30 a petition for investigation into mass retraction of statements by the victims.
The case was based on a complaint filed by women’s activist K. Ajitha in August 1997 that the girls employed at the ice cream parlor run by one of the accused, C. Sreedevi, were being sold to high and mighty, including Kunhalikutty. Although Kunhalikutty’s name figured in the case diary, police did not press charges as the victims later retracted their statements. Women’s activists even sought a Supreme Court directive to the state police for framing charges against Kunhalikutty, but without success.
