Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 16: A rape case involving a bobbitised godman took a curious turn on Thursday after a letter—purportedly written by his victim—was submitted to a trial court.
Giving a clean chit to the rape accused, the letter said a man close to the 23-year-old woman instigated her to harm Swami Gangesananda Theerthapadar alias Hari Swami, aged 54.
A Malayalam television channel claimed it cross-checked with the woman and confirmed that she had written the letter.
Hari Swami's lawyer Sashthamangalam Ajithkumar produced the letter, written in English, before the court along with the accused's bail application. The lawyer claimed that he received the letter by post.
The letter accused three former aides of the Swami—Ayyappadas, Manoj Murali and Ajithkumar—of conspiring and instigating the woman to harm the godman, now in judicial custody.
Ayyappadas, who maintained a close relationship with the city-based woman, reportedly convinced her that the Swami was siphoning off her family's hard-earned money.
The letter also mentioned that police wrote the statement saying the Swami had tried to rape her and she chopped off his genital. It also reportedly said she signed the statement without understanding its content.
Investigators, meanwhile, remained unperturbed by the development. They were viewing the letter as a ploy to weaken the case, which grabbed national and international media attention.
"The defence often tries to influence the victim in rape cases, and make her turn hostile during the trial," an investigator said while dismissing the development. He, however, suspected a deeper conspiracy was involved in the case.
Probe supervisor and inspector-general of police (Thiruvananthapuram range) Manoj Abraham said the police were focusing on collecting as many evidence as possible.
Investigators were waiting for the result of the chemical analysis tests done on the clothes the woman was wearing at the time of the May 18 incident and her call details.
"The letter says that she merely attempted to chop Swami's genital but failed as he woke up and screamed. But our officers, who examined the crime scene in her house, could not find any evidence suggesting external interference," Abraham said.
The officer hinted that if the woman stood by the contents of the letter, the residents of the house—her parents and brother—would be the prime suspects in bobbitisation case.
Legal experts, meanwhile, opined that even scientific evidence proving rape would not be of importance if the victim turned hostile.
The woman had already given a sworn statement before a magistrate which was in contradiction to the reported contents of the letter.
The court would hear the bail plea on Monday.
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