Rights panel's attitude draws criticism

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Human rights only for some? The query was posed by the Human Rights Federation (CHRO) questioning the action of Kerala State Human Rights Commission, which admitted a complaint of a woman MLA, while it rejected the plea of the Suryanelli sex scandal victim against the CBI on the same grounds.CHRO leaders -- Abdul Salam and Mukundan Menon -- pointed out the ``evidently contradictory action'' of the commission.The Suryanelli sex scandal victim is an underaged school girl who suffered misery and torture from all concerned.Her tormentors, numbering 39, have been brought to justice and they are in prison. Yet, the CBI recently subjected the girl and her parents to a long and gruelling questioning on the ``unsolved'' case of murder of a nun in a Kottayam seminary 12 years ago.The girl and her poor parents, who suffered the agony of social taunts and ``police torture'' for six long years, were again subjected to torture recently under a ``complaint'' by one of the tormentors. When the girl approached the State Human Rights Commission against the CBI's conduct, the commission refused to accept it.But the same commission was quick in admitting the complaint of Shobana George, MLA, of ``harassment'' by the crime branch police. The police had only questioned her on the veracity of a complaint that it was she who facilitated a private TV channel a ``fake letter'' charging Tourism Minister K.V. Thomas with being involved in a hawala case. The case is under investigation.``The fact that Shobhana was not subjected to ``custodial interrogation'' by crime branch unlike the Suryanelli girl and her parents, makes the stand of the commission more suspicious,'' Menon pointed out.The CHRO leaders said Shobana could have complained to the assembly speaker if her rights as an MLA were violated. As a housewife, she could have approached the state women's commission, and if it was the harassment by her own party (Congress) colleagues, she could still have told the PCC chief. But to approach the Human Rights Commission for the police questioning her at her residence was stretching things too far. ``The commission owes the people an explanation for its conduct.''