Case against ex-bank staffer for comments on rape victim

A case was registered on Saturday against a former bank employee for allegedly justifying the "gangrape and killing" of an eightyear-old girl in Kathua of J&K, police said. Vishnu Nandakumar, who triggered a social media furore with his alleged Facebook comments against the Kathua rape victim was charged under Section 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of

religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the IPC, they added.

The case was registered at Panangad police station.

The police said the action was initiated against Nandakumar on the basis of complaints from various individuals and groups. The Kotak Mahindra Bank, which had sacked Nandakumar for "poor performance" on April 11, had on Friday condemned the alleged Facebook comments of its former employee. "It is disheartening to see such comments being made in the aftermath of such a tragedy by anyone, including an exemployee. We strongly condemn this statement," bank spokesperson Rohit Rao had said. Nandakumar, who worked as the assistant manager at a Kotak Mahindra Bank branch here, had allegedly justified the killing of the rape victim, saying she would have grown up to be a terrorist. "It's better to kill her now, otherwise tomorrow she may become a human bomb against India," he had allegedly written in Malayalam.