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Kerala woman's bus harassment claim, viral video, man's suicide, her arrest: Case explained
The woman was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by a local court in Kerala's Kozhikode over abetment to suicide charges.
A woman who uploaded a video purportedly showing a man allegedly sexually harassing her inside a bus was arrested on Wednesday, police said, days after the man died by suicide at his home in Kerala's Kozhikode.
She was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by a local court, her lawyers told reporters earlier this week.
The case stems from the now-viral video in which, as per the woman's claims, the man was sexually harassing her during a bus journey. The man was found hanging in his house on January 18.
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-The video was recorded during a bus journey from Payyanur to Kozhikode and was posted on social media earlier this month. It went viral, garnering nearly two million views within days.
-The deceased against whom the video alleging misbehaviour with the woman passenger had surfaced on social media, was found hanging at his residence on Sunday, January 18, police said. According to police, his parents knocked on the bedroom door to wake him up in the morning but received no response despite repeated attempts.
-The woman who uploaded the video was arrested on Wednesday, January 21, police said, days after the man died by suicide at his home in Kozhikode. She was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by a local court, her lawyers told reporters. She was booked under section 109 (abetment to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), police said.
-The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has also ordered a police probe into the death of the man. The Commission's judicial member, K Byjunath, directed the North Zone Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police to investigate the incident and submit a report within a week, PTI news agency reported. The matter will be taken up for consideration at the Commission's sitting to be held in the district on February 19, a Commission statement said.
-The Commission initiated action based on complaints lodged by advocates V Devadas and Abdu Rahim Pookkath. According to the complaints, after the woman content creator made the video public, the youth allegedly became mentally distressed, which is believed to have led to his suicide, the news agency reported.
-Relatives of the deceased said he was employed at a textile firm and had travelled to Kannur earlier this month for work. On the same day, the woman passenger travelling on the bus in which he was a co-passenger recorded the video alleging misbehaviour, a relative told reporters.
-The video was widely circulated on social media and had come to the man's notice, police said. According to relatives, he denied the allegation and had been under severe mental distress since the video surfaced. Police said a case of unnatural death has been registered by the medical college police, and an investigation is underway.
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