A 23-year-old law student in Kerala, who has endured being raped by a 54-year-old godman for 8 years, reportedly chopped off his penis on Friday night. It was gathered that she had been raped by the self-styled godman since she was in Class 12.
Reacting to the incident at a press conference, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hailed the woman’s “brave step”. “It’s a good thing the girl did”. According to a police complaint filed by the woman, the accused, identified as Swamy Gangeshananda, a member of the Kollam-based Panmana Ashram, had been raping her at her home for the last eight years.
The woman said he first raped her when she was 16 years old. When the accused tried to again rape her at her home on Friday night, the woman grabbed a sharp
object and chopped off his penis. She reportedly called the police herself.
The accused was rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College where an emergency surgery was performed. Hospital officials, however, said that 90% of his penis was cut off and was not in a position to be re-attached.
“A 54-year-old man from Kollam was admitted at 12.39 am to the hospital on Saturday. His penis had been cut (90%) and was hanging precariously. There was no way it could be stitched back.
Plastic surgeons who are urology experts in the hospital did emergency surgery to stop the blood loss and to enable him to pass urine,” a statement by the hospital said.
He has been booked under Section 376 (Rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO). The woman’s mother has also been detained as she knew about the crime but failed to report it.
In the police complaint, the law student has said that her mother was also sexually abused by the accused. Her father suffered a paralysis attack a few years ago. A senior police official told PTI that no case had been registered against the woman