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Former senior Tamil Nadu cop Rajesh Das sent to 3 years' jail for sexually harassing junior, gets bail to file appeal
The woman police officer filed a complaint against Rajesh Das in February 2021 and accused him of sexual advances when they were travelling on duty.
A Tamil Nadu court on Friday convicted and sentenced Rajesh Das, the former Special Director-General of the state's police force, to three years imprisonment in a sexual harassment case filed by a junior officer in February 2021. Das was also fined ₹10,000. The court in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram also imposed a fine of ₹500 on a male cop who had tried to stop the complaint from being filed.
Das was then granted bail by the same court to file an appeal within 30 days.
What was the case?
The woman police officer had accused Das of inappropriate behaviour while the two were on-duty in the state's central districts. This was when All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Edappadi Palaniswami was chief minister.
The state set up a six-member committee to probe the complaint.
READ | TN cop accuses senior officer of sexual harassment, inquiry ordered
Also, following the complaint - which became a major issue ahead of the 2021 Assembly election that the AIADMK lost - Das was replaced by Jayanth Murali, Additional Director General in-charge of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, and placed under compulsory wait; meaning he had no specific assignment.
He was later suspended.
What did the Madras High Court say?
Months after the complaint was filed the Madras High Court dismissed a plea by Das challenging the jurisdictional competence of the Villupuram court.
Justice P Velmurugan junked the plea, saying the High Court found no 'perversity' in the order passed by Villupuram court in rejecting a similar petition, and directed the lower court to not bear 'prejudice' to the petitioner.
READ | Madras HC rejects Spl DGP's plea to transfer sexual harassment case
The High Court had earlier also criticised the incident, calling it 'shocking' and warning of the impact on other women police officers in Tamil Nadu.
The state government suspended Das after the High Court's comments.
Matter in the Supreme Court
Das had also moved the Supreme Court asking for the trial to be shifted out of the state as he feared comments by the Madras High Court would damage his chances of a fair trial. The top court did not allow that but did expunge some comments and said there was no need for the high court to monitor inquiries.
The Supreme Court also said day-to-day hearings were not needed - as ordered by the Madras High Court, which wanted the case to be finished in six months.
What did the opposition say?
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader MK Stalin - now chief minister - said his party 'will never allow disgraceful situation... for women in Tamil Nadu police'.
