Don't come here till case resolved: Church tells Suryanelli gangrape survivor?

Discrimination against the survivor of the Suryanelli gangrape case in Kerala isn’t new. Firstpost had pointed out how the woman has constantly been targeted by society and politicians in her home state, but now even a church that she attends has reportedly said that she shouldn’t pray there until all her legal woes are resolved. Given the stream of politicians and news channels that have gone to her house since the Supreme Court struck down the acquittal of the accused in the case, most people who lived near the rape survivor’s house have discovered her identity. However, taking the discrimination to a new high the St Francis Xavier Church, at Sachivothamapuram near Kurichy in Kottayam district, reportedly saw it fit to issue a directive two weeks ago saying that both the woman and her relatives should not attend services there until the case was resolved. [caption id=“attachment_653015” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Suryanelli case has become a political battleground with the CPM holding protests demanding the resignation of Deputy Rajya Sabha chairperson PJ Kurien. PTI[/caption] According to the girl’s mother, three weeks ago, after the Sunday mass, the vicar of the Catholic church at Kurichi told the girl’s father that they should try to avoid coming to the church. Though the vicar did not cite any specific reason for this, apparently it could be due to the recent developments in the case, she said. “The vicar did not say that there is a ban on us. He, however, suggested that we should try to avoid coming to the church. He did not say this in a harsh tone but in a friendly manner,” the girl’s mother told a Malayalam television channel. “The vicar’s words deeply pained us, especially since this has happened when the fasting season of Lent is on,” she said. She, however, said for the last few years they had been attending the same church and never faced any discrimination or hostile attitude from the church authorities. Vicar of the church, Fr Francis, however, dubbed the allegation as “totally baseless.” “It is surprising. No such thing has happened,” he said. An NDTV report documents how important the church was to the woman’s family, with her father switching three buses to get to the church. However, when he went there around a fortnight ago, the priest reportedly advised him and his family not to attend church until the controversy surrounding the case had settled. The woman’s case had acquired political overtones after she accused Congress MP and Rajya Sabha deputy speaker PJ Kurien of being one of the men who raped her during a 40-day ordeal. The CPM has used the allegations to target him and seek his resignation, something Kurien refuses to do given his exoneration by the Supreme Court in the case. Firstpost’s G Pramod Kumar had pointed out how the girl’s family has faced stigma for years now with their house initially becoming a tourist spot, how she is targeted in public and the treatment she faced at a government office. The church cutting off the family purely because of political pressures in the case would perhaps be one of the worst cases of discrimination yet, and that too from an organisation it is least expected from. With inputs from PTI