Cheruthoni: A fast-track court in Idukki has sentenced John S Edwin, a Childline worker from Ikkanagar, Munnar, to five-and-a-half years of imprisonment for threatening a class nine student into filing a fabricated sexual abuse complaint against the school counsellor.
Pronouncing the judgment, Judge Laijumol Sheriff also imposed a fine of Rs 1.36 lakh on the convict. 

The incident took place in 2020 when several school teachers who had nursed a grudge against the woman counsellor conspired to tarnish her reputation. At their behest, John Edwin threatened and coerced the student behind closed doors to draft a false complaint, which he later submitted to the police.

The truth surfaced during police interrogation when the minor confessed that the convict had forced him to write the complaint under duress. This prompted the Munnar police to launch an investigation, naming the Childline worker as the primary accused.

The baseless claim had ultimately led the counsellor to take her own life. Due to which, the court directed that the fine amount be handed over to the counsellor's next of kin.

Reji M Kunniparambil, the Circle Inspector of Police in Munnar at that time, led the investigation. Special Public Prosecutor Shijomon Joseph represented the prosecution during the trial.