A woman in Kerala has accused high-ranking police officials who served in Malappuram in 2022 of sexually exploiting her.

The woman in Kerala’s Malappuram district alleged that former Malappuram Superintendent of Police (SP) Sujith Das, former Tirur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP) VV Benny, and former Ponnani Circle Inspector (CI) Vinod sexually assaulted her.

She shared her alleged experiences on camera with a Malayalam news channel.

The woman alleged that the incident occurred in 2022, when she approached the Ponnani police station to lodge a complaint related to a property dispute. She alleged that after filing the complaint with the then Ponnani CI Vinod, he went to her house at 10 pm and sexually assaulted her.

The woman also alleged that she approached V V Benny, the then Dy.SP in Tirur, and told him about the assault. “ Dy.SP Benny said it’s normal and similar things happen everywhere,” she said.

She further alleged that Benny assured her of resolving her property-related complaint and forced her for sexual favours, which she refused to comply.

The woman said she had later approached the then Malappuram SP Sujith Das after the incident with DYSP. “The same night or the next night, he called me and said, I should come alone when discussing the complaints,” she said. She alleged on another day, the SP sexually assaulted her.

The housewife alleges that SP Sujith Das sexually assaulted her twice and threatened her not to report the incidents. During the second assault, she says that a customs official, who was a senior officer, was present. Sujith Das reportedly demanded that she also yield to this official, but she refused.

The woman said that she came forward with the complaint after the disclosure of PV Anwar MLA. The woman also said that she visited Anvar when he arrived at the house of a CPI-M leader in Ponnani on Thursday.

The Police officials against whom rape allegation has been raised by the woman,have denied the charges , alleging that there is a conspiracy behind it to tarnish their reputations .

Former Malappuram SP S Sujith Das,Tanur DySP VV Benny, and Ponnani CI Vinod V have dismissed the accusations as baseless and indicated that they plan to take legal action against the woman and those they believe are behind the conspiracy.

Sujith Das said that there is a big conspiracy behind the rape allegation of the woman. “In 2022, the woman came to the SP office with her brother and child. Details are in the reception register. The woman who has been constantly filing a case against the police has now come forward with such an allegation. . I will take this up legally,” the former Malappuram SP said.

Denying the allegation, V V Benny said it a political conspiracy to destroy his life and career. He said that the allegations are aimed at uprooting the Muttil tree felling case investigation which was led by him.

“Owners of the TV channel are the key accused in the Muttil tree felling case related to illegal chopping down of rosewood trees from assigned land,” he said.

Benny added that he plans to file a complaint with the Director General of Police (DGP) to investigate the conspiracy and that he will also file a defamation case.

Ponnani CI Vinod V also refuted the allegations, stating, “I have never seen the woman outside the police station”.

Meanwhile, the Police Officers Association has come out saying that the allegation of police officers sexually assaulting a woman in Malappuram is absurd.. In a note shared on Facebook, the Police Officers’ Association stated that they will provide all support to the accused police officers to proceed with legal proceedings. There should be a system of preliminary investigation before publishing such news, the Association said.