I was sexually assaulted by policemen'

A mystery shrouds the cause of attempted suicide by a Sri Lankan refugee deepened, with contradictory statements from the police and the victim, three dying declarations and an FIR which mentions she took the extreme step as she was unable to bear her ‘stomach pain’.

While the case is meandering its way through several twists, the victim, Padma, who set herself ablaze after being allegedly sexually assaulted by police personnel, is battling for her life at the Karur General Hospital after suffering 75 per cent burns.

On March 7, Padma, a Sri Lankan refugee living at the Rayanur camp, was taken by police for interrogation in connection with a criminal case against her husband.

While the police said she was taken at 4 pm, camp inmates, advocates and a human rights group maintained she was picked up at 1.30 pm.

In a videographed statement on March 9, Padma said she had been sexually assaulted by the policemen.

She stopped short of saying she was raped, and said she lost consciousness when they attempted to disrobe her. “I tried to resist and while doing so, I fainted. I regained consciousness when a woman constable poured water on me. Then they took me to my mother who was waiting in the jeep outside, as I could hardly walk,” said Padma recounting the ordeal she went through.

“Later, I was taken to a pharmacy where the cops asked me to buy some medicines and took my signature on a blank piece of paper.

They then warned me not to reveal anything to anyone or my husband would face dire consequences.

I reached home at 5.30 pm,” she said. Padma attempted suicide on the same day by setting herself ablaze.

Padma made three dying declarations in all, the first two to the same magistrate on March 7 and the third to the Chief Judicial Magistrate on March 9, said advocate M Pari.

Activists claim the first, in which she said a stomach ache was the reason for her attempt, was made under duress.

Ironically, while the police claim that Padma’s hunger and subsequent stomach pain led to her attempted suicide, Padma in her statement said, “They beat me, forced me to eat. After that the beating started again. At this point, the cops tried to sexually assault me.”