Rapist priest gets CWC help while tribal youths land in jail for customary marriage

The CWC (Child Welfare Committee), the quasi-judicial body which is under the scanner for helping the Catholic priest who allegedly raped and impregnated a minor girl from Kannur to cover up his crime, was very particular that tribal youths who married minors as part of tribal custom get jailed. One of the youths who married a relative as part of tribal custom was accused of rape and was jailed for 40 years!

Babu, a tribal youth of   Ambalavayal in Wayanad was arrested by police after a complaint by the CWC two years back. He was taken by the cops when his pregnant wife sought treatment at a government hospital. The family was rattled when the husband was arrested for rape of his wife together with other serious charges including child marriage. The Child Welfare Committee was very stern and wanted to go by the letter of law and shifted the pregnant girl to shelter home, despite her family pleaded against it. 

After an year of trial, Babu was awarded 40 years of imprisonment. When activists and local people informed the CWC that the tribes were innocent and ignorant of the law and the provisions of the POSCO, Fr. Joseph Perakam, the then-chairman of the quasi-judicial body, told them that the arrest was part of educating them!

Babu was not allowed to meet his wife after that. Now in jail for over two years, the tribal youth has not even met his child yet.
"I pleaded not to punish him, but the authorities were not ready to hear my plea," Babu's wife told Asianet News. "They did not allow him to take a look at our child when he was brought to the court," she added.  

In a paradoxical twist, Joseph Perakam now stands accused of helping Robin Vadakkancheril, 48, who was arrested for raping and impregnating a minor girl at Kannur.  The CWC under Joseph Perakam was over enthusiastic in taking cases against tribes who still follow traditional customs and engage in child marriage. Three more tribal youths landed in jail, thanks to their ignorance of the law while nine others are facing probe as per a CWC complaint. 

Last week, the state government dismissed district CWC chaired by Joseph Perakam after he and Sr. Betty, a member of the committee, allegedly helped the priest to cover up the crime. When the rape victim of Kannur gave birth, the CWC helped to shift the baby to an orphanage run by a Christian convent in Wayanad. The CWC also claimed that all procedures had been met before shifting the newborn to the orphanage on the very day of birth.  In this case, the CWC did not find it necessary to take the case even after it was very clear that the girl was a minor and a rape victim.  

• CWC
• minors rape
• priest arrested for rape
• rape by priest
• Kottiyoor rape