Gang-rape survivor suspects her drink was spiked at Kochi bar

The survivor was in a cafe at Kakkanad when the accused woman invited her to a DJ party. Since they knew each other, the survivor accepted the invitation and went with her to Fly High, a lounge bar, at the bustling neighbourhood of Ravipuram, and ordered beer around 8.30 pm.

Incidentally, Kerala’s Abkari (Excise) Act prohibits persons aged under 23 from consuming or using liquor. Violators could be punished with a fine of up to ₹5,000, or imprisonment for a maximum of two years, or both.

The survivor’s version

The women left the bar after the younger model complained of dizziness and headed towards the bar’s parking lot. At the parking lot, the older woman, identified as Dimple Lamba alias Dolly, asked the survivor to wait in a black Mahindra Thar, which she said, belonged to a friend.

The survivor said she obliged since she felt too weak. After seating the younger girl in the SUV, Dolly went back, saying she would be back in 10 minutes. Once she had left, three men boarded the vehicle and drove into the night with the model.

The SUV went around the city for around 45 minutes even as the men allegedly took turns raping her. The woman reportedly told the TV channel she was too weak and scared to resist though she knew what was happening.

While returning to the bar, they stopped at a restaurant for food. The woman still did not raise an alarm, though she, too, accompanied the men to the eatery.

“I was traumatised and scared,” she explained.

After food, the group picked Dolly up from the bar, and headed towards Kakkanad, where the survivor has been living. They reportedly dropped her off in front of a hotel, and drove off. “I somehow managed to reach my place,” she said.

The survivor said she did not confide the incident in Dolly. Though a male friend had contacted her over the phone while she was in the SUV, he, too, was not informed.

The woman reportedly realised the gravity of the attack only the next morning. She went to a hospital in Kakkanad along with a friend. The hospital confirmed the assault.

Also read: 15% hike in crimes against women in 5 South Indian states

What the police say

The hospital referred her to the Medical College Hospital at Kalamassery. Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said the medical college authorities alerted the police.

Kochi City Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju (Facebook/Police Commissionerate Kochi).

The case was first registered at the Infopark police station before transferring it to the Ernakulam Town (South) police.

The police acted swiftly and by Friday, 18 November evening, detained four people, including Dolly. The men, Vivek, Nithin and Sudhi, were picked up from Kodungallur, their place of residence in the neighbouring Thrissur district. The woman, police said, hailed from Rajasthan.

Vivek’s SUV, bearing the registration number KL-47-J-9479, was also confiscated.

Nagaraju said the accused face charges of rape, criminal conspiracy and human trafficking.

“A 19-year-old girl was invited to a DJ party at a bar. She was taken in a car and according to the complainant, assaulted in the car. We are investigating the matter. All procedures, including medical examination, have been completed,” the officer said.

The commissioner added that the police are conducting a scientific investigation to ascertain whether any drug has been used. “We have collected the samples and are awaiting the test results,” he said.

To a specific query on whether Dolly, too, was part of the crime, Nagaraju said: “That is why she is an accused. The victim said she had a part in the incident.” The investigators are also probing if the crime was pre-planned or impromptu. The antecedents of the accused are also being checked.

The survivor and Dolly became friends since they both were working in the same field. The officer said the accused will produced before a court either later on Saturday or the next day.

The police, apparently, are closely scrutinising the survivor’s statement. Her mobile phone has been taken over for investigation.

Women, liquor and risks

Reporters drew the commissioner’s attention to a previous incident in which two models and their male companion were killed in a high-speed pre-dawn crash near Chakkaraparambu at Palarivattom on Kochi bypass.

“We see an increased risk in some situations. When we say risky situations, everywhere alcohol is involved, everywhere is a bar involved. So, whenever a woman or accused come together in a situation in which there is some drinking happening, we have seen such things happening. That’s our understanding of the situation [sic],” commissioner Nagaraju told reporters.

It may also be recalled that two young models, Miss South India 2019 and Miss Kerala 2019 Ansy Kabeer, 25, and Miss Kerala 2019 first runner-up Anjana Shajan, 26, respectively, were killed after the car they were travelling in rammed into a tree near Chakkaraparambu on 1 November 2021. Their companion, Ashiq, 25, succumbed to injuries seven days later.

Though the women were not reportedly drunk, they were returning from a DJ party at No 18, an upmarket hotel in Fort Kochi. They were accosted by one Saiju Thankachan in the hotel will ill intentions.

Once they had left the hotel, he tailed their car in his vehicle. The group of friends were trying to shake him off when the accident occurred.

“Saiju had exploited many women in the past. If they file complaints, we will take action. The possibility of suo motu (cognizance) is also being looked into. There are many charges that can be levelled against him. Saiju chased the models with ill intent, eventually causing the accident,” Nagaraju had said.

If a woman drinks, she need not be attacked

Expressing concern over women’s safety in Kerala, the State Women’s Commission chairperson, P Sathidevi, called for a foolproof policing system in the state.

P Sathidevi, Chairperson, Kerala State Women’s Commission (Source: Kerala Women’s Commission)

“It is not a matter of pride for Kerala that women could not travel alone even through crowded areas at night. It has come to such a situation that Kerala should bow its head in shame before other states,” she said while addressing the commission’s state-level seminar in Thiruvananthapuram.

“According to news received, the woman was gang-raped while travelling on work. It is said that she was drunk,” she said. “Women are assaulted even if they are not drunk. Such situation do not arise when men get drunk,” she pointed out.

Sathidevi hastened to add that the Kochi incident was the latest example for how addiction to alcohol is affecting the society.

Not the first case

The incident was reminiscent of the abduction and rape of a prominent actor on 18 February 2017. She was travelling to Kochi from Thrissur on work when she was allegedly raped in a moving car.

The high-profile case later grabbed national attention. Actor Dilip is the ninth accused in the case. The trail is still on.