UDF defends its MLA, Court sends him to one-day police custody

Congress MLA M Vincent, arrested on charges of raping a woman and driving her to attempt suicide was sent to police custody for a day today by a court here.

A Neyyatinkara magisterial court remanded Vincent in police custody for a day, turning down the police demands for his five-day custody for his custodial interrogation to gather various evidence in the case.

The court also deferred hearing on his bail plea by a day.

"His bail plea will come up for hearing tomorrow," the MLA's brother Vincent P Paul said, alleging that the case against his brother was false and fabricated. He said his whole family was behind him.
 

Meanwhile, the Congress-led United Democratic Front rallied behind the MLA, terming the case against him as "politically motivated."

"The UDF assumption is that Congress MLA M Vincent has not done anything wrong and the complaint of the woman in this regard is false," UDF convener P P Thankachan told reporters after a meeting of the Front leaders here.

The Front expressed dissatisfaction over the present probe and demanded that the government conduct an impartial investigation into the case.

"The UDF has taken a strong position in favour of the MLA in the matter. The CPI(M)-led LDF government has misused the Women Protection Act to frame the legislator," Thankachan said.

"The UDF is of the opinion that what government did to Vincent was a heinous act," he said.

Thankachan said some UDF leaders are also of the view that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office had intervened in the case.

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, meanwhile, today maintained that the case against Vincent was false and politically motivated.

KPCC president M M Hassan told reporters after a party meet here that the Congress suspended Vincent from the party secretary post "upholding its high ethical values" but insisted that the case against him was false and politically motivated.

Hassan also alleged that CPI(M) district leaders have a clear role in the case.

Vincent has been accused by a 51-year-old woman of raping her following which she attempted to commit suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills.

The police questioned the Congress MLA for over three hours at the MLA hostel on July 22 and arrested him on a complaint from the woman's husband.

Vincent, who has been was booked on charges of rape and abetment to suicide, had been remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a court, but was sent to police custody today for a day.