For the first time in Kerala, a government employee was fired because of her wife’s dowry-related death

Thiruvananthapuram: In a first for Kerala, a government employee has been fired in connection with his wife’s dowry-related death.
Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector S Kiran Kumar was fired on Friday after being accused of torturing his wife Vismaya V Nair, who later committed suicide.

Transport Minister Antony Raju, who had previously stated that he would not visit the victim’s family until action was taken against the accused, announced the dismissal at a press conference held here on Friday.

Raju stated that the decision was made after conducting an internal investigation and hearing from the accused and witnesses. “AMVI S Kiran Kumar has been dismissed from service in accordance with clause 8, section 11 of the Kerala Civil Service Rules, 1960,” Raju stated. The minister quoted the section and added, “the dismissal from service in the State Service of the government shall ordinarily be a disqualification for future employment.”

Raju claimed that his dismissal validated Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s promise to take firm action against dowry-related incidents in the state.

Later, the minister announced that he will pay a visit to Vismaya’s family in Nilamel, Kollam, on Monday. Governor Arif Mohammad Khan had also visited the bereaved family members, but Raju had stayed away because the accused worked for the department that he oversaw.

“S Kiran Kumar, the main accused in his wife S V Vismaya’s dowry death, has been dismissed from Government service,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted on Friday.

“Kerala will never turn a blind eye to sexual assaults on women. We will continue to work hard to achieve a gender-equal society “Vijayan went on to say.

Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern about the deaths of women in alleged dowry-related incidents.

The CM has promised that those who commit such crimes will face harsh punishment.

He then directed the State Police Chief to ensure that Domestic Conflict Resolution Centres in all districts functioned properly in order to prevent violence against women.

This is a system in which district police chiefs directly hear the complaints of female victims and offer solutions online.

Women who are victims of dowry-related domestic violence can also contact the state police’s ‘Aparajitha is Online’ hotline, which was established to report cyber crimes against women.

Noting that dowry has been illegal in the country for six decades, Vijayan described the prevalence of such a system as a major social disaster and urged families to take action to eliminate it.

Vismaya was discovered hanging in late June at Kiran’s house in Sooranadu, Kollam district. The 24-year-old had previously shared images of her husband’s torture with a relative.

 

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker