Padmarajan convicted in Palathayi sexual abuse case terminated from job

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Padmarajan, a teacher convicted in the Palathayi sexual abuse case has been terminated from his job, informed Education Minister V Sivankutty. The minister in a Facebook post said the order terminating him has been released by the school manager. The court sentenced Padmarajan, a BJP leader and teacher, to life imprisonment till death. The Thalassery Fast Tract POCSO Court also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on him.

The incident happened in the months of January and February 2020. The girl subjected to sexual abuse was a fourth-class student in Palathayi. The case is that the teacher abused her in the school washroom and in another house. The accused, who was the former president of the BJP Trippangottur Panchayat Committee in Mundathode, Kadavathur, was the district leader of NTU, a Sangh Parivar teachers' organization.

On March 16 in 2020, the child's family filed a complaint with the Thalassery DySP. However, the Panur police concluded in their initial investigation that the complaint was false. A case was then registered under the POCSO Act after there was strong protest over the lack of action taken against the accused. Padmarajan, who was hiding at a relative's house, was arrested on April 15.

POCSO sections were omitted from the chargesheet initially filed by the Panur police and the accused was granted bail by the high court and this led to major protests. The trial, which began on February 23, 2024, continued until August 13, 2025.