more-in Kochi: CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to misdirect the investigation into the case relating to the recent attack on a prominent Malayalam woman actor with the ulterior motive of protecting the actual perpetrators. “If anyone has any evidence against someone in the case, it should be shared with the investigating team. But the BJP is trying to leverage the issue for political benefits by presenting Vijesh, an accused in the case from Thalassery, as a CPI(M) supporter,” he said, urging people to discern the excessive haste shown by the BJP in politicising the case. Inaugurating a solidarity meet on violence against women organised here by the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangham (Pukasa), and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Mr. Balakrishnan said his party would not want to make it a political issue. He insisted that the investigation into the case was progressing in the right direction, and that the culprits (those who gave the contract [quotation] for attack and those who executed) would get nothing short of imprisonment. Mr. Balakrishnan also said that there was a fall in the number of atrocities against women after the LDF came to power. “A total of 1,997 women were subjected to sexual harassment and 886 women and children were abducted during the previous UDF regime, according to statistics presented in the Assembly. But the situation has changed with the change in government. We need to ask why such an incident happened in a society like Kerala, which is known for its women-friendly policies and equal opportunity schemes,” he added.

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