Kochi: Two more persons were arrested in the case of former Senior Government Pleader P G Manu sexually assaulting a woman who had approached him seeking legal help. Police on Saturday arrested Manu's junior Adv Joby and his driver Eldhose for conspiring to destroy evidence related to the case.
Manu surrendered at the Puthencruz DySP's office on January 31 after the latter issued a lookout notice and both the High Court and Supreme Court denied him anticipatory bail. The court had granted him 10 days to surrender before the police.
The allegation is that the accused had sexually assaulted the victim, who had approached him as a client concerning another sexual assault case in which she was the victim.
The case
On October 9, 2023, the 25-year-old woman approached Manu seeking legal advice in a 2018 sexual harassment case. The lawyer was first contacted by an ex-policeman who was the investigating officer in the case.
According to the complainant, the accused first tried to sexually assault the woman on October 9 when she visited his Kadavanthra office along with her father and mother. He even threatened to turn the 2018 case around and make her an accused instead of a victim. The advocate also summoned her on October 11 in connection with the case and repeated the offence while her father waited outside. The accused also visited the survivor at her place on November 24 after ensuring her parents and brother were not home and forced his way into the house and raped her, the complaint alleged.
The woman added that he continued to make obscene remarks through WhatsApp calls and chats.
The woman's statement was recorded after the complaint given to the Ernakulam Rural SP was handed over to the Chottanikkara police. In the complaint, the woman also said that apart from the torture, the accused took pictures of her naked body. In addition to sexual harassment under section 376 of the IPC, the police have registered a case under the IT Act.
