Ex-Councillor of CPI (M) booked under POCSO Act; suspended from party

A former Municipal Councillor of the ruling CPIM here, also a retired school teacher, has been booked under POCSO Act over the molestation allegations raised by a woman, who was his student.The district leadership of the Marxist party on Thursday said K V Sasikumar, the accused, was suspended from the party and they were viewing the charges against him as utmost serious.

A former Municipal Councillor of the ruling CPI(M) here, also a retired school teacher, has been booked under POCSO Act over the molestation allegations raised by a woman, who was his student.

The district leadership of the Marxist party on Thursday said K V Sasikumar, the accused, was suspended from the party and they were viewing the charges against him as ''utmost serious''. Police said though the case was registered based on the complaint of one woman, they first received a mass petition by a group of women, all of them former students of the government-aided school here, where he had been a teacher for three decades.

The case was registered at the Malappuram Women's Police Station.

''First, we got the mass petition by a group of former students and we recorded the statements of many of them. Based on the statement of one of the complainants, the accused has been charged under the POCSO Act,'' a police officer said.

The FIR was registered and further proceedings including his custody and arrest would be made soon, she said.

Sasikumar had retired from his career as teacher in March this year.

He put a Facebook post detailing his life as a teacher soon after that. A woman, who allegedly suffered sexual assault from him during her student life, replied in the comment box apparently referring to the molestation, which later prompted several former students to come up with similar charges against him.

Meanwhile, a senior district leader of the CPI(M) said they decided to suspend Sasikumar from the party as he allegedly acted against the ethics and values of the Marxist Party.

''He was a branch committee member of the party and a Councillor in the Malappuram municipality. The party could not seek his resignation as councillor but it is learnt that he already sent his resignation letter,'' he told PTI.

The accused was also removed from the parliamentary forum of the council, the leader added.

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