Dalit woman’s rape, murder turns campaign issue

The brutal rape and murder of a young Dalit woman last week at Kuruppampadi, some 30 km from Kochi, is becoming a campaign issue in Kerala.

Resembling the rape-and-murder of `Nirbahaya’ in Delhi four years ago, which caught global attention, Jisha, a 29-year-old former law student, was found murdered in her hut-like one-room house on Thursday afternoon. Her mother, a housemaid, saw Jisha lying dead in a pool of blood and many internal organs slipped out, when she returned home after sundown.

The murder came to public notice only on Sunday evening when the post-mortem examination showed that Jisha was raped and murdered later using weapons. The post-mortem showed that she had received around 30 injuries on her body and that her sexual organs were mutilated and pierced through with sharp weapons.

Kerala was shocked on Monday when the news came out. Two persons were arrested by the police and a senior police officer told the media late in the afternoon that the police had a clear idea of the culprit. Both the Human Rights Commission and the SC-ST Commission have taken cognisance of the murder.

In the heat of a hotly contested election, various political parties and candidates immediately came out with statements condemning the death, accusing the police of inaction and inefficiency and `strongly demanding’ the government to arrest the culprits forthwith. Several candidates from many constituencies in Ernakulam district paid visits to Jisha’s home. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala ordered a top-level investigation.

On Tuesday, Chennithala’s car was blocked by LDF activists while he was on his way to Jisha’s home. Tension prevailed near the Perumbavoor town as the activists alleged police inaction. Human rights activists in Kochi fear that in the coming days, the cruel murder of an impoverished Dalit woman will be drawn into the electoral arena.

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