'Touched inappropriately, forced me to obey his commands'; Suicide note against DCC General Secretary surfaces

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A suicide note written by a woman against DCC General Secretary Jose Franklin surfaced on Sunday. In the note, it is mentioned that the woman was subjected to sexual harassment on different occasions by the Congress leader. The note written by the woman to her son has been released. The Thiruvananthapuram Principal District Court had granted anticipatory bail to Jose Franklin the other day. Jose Franklin, who is the opposition leader and standing committee chairman of Neyyattinkara Municipality, is the chairman of NARD, an organisation that protects mentally retarded children.

In the letter, the woman also suggested that her son settle the family's debts. It was at the end that she mentioned the horrific torture from the congress leader’s side. She had written separate letters to her son and daughter before committing suicide.

From the suicide note:

"When I approached Jose Franklin for help with a loan to pay off my debt, he made sexual advances to me. He called me to his office, promising to give me a loan, and sexually harassed me. After that, he constantly came to the shop and harassed me with sexual advances. I reached a point where I was unable to live denying his orders, which is why I decided to end my life.

When I went to the office to give the bills, he held my hand and said he liked me. He ordered me to visit him once a week. The Congress leader even caressed and grabbed my private parts. He even forced me to grab his private parts. How can someone behave this way towards a single mother? I don’t want to live like this. Whenever I enquire about the loan deals, he would ask me to approach his office. I know the motive behind that.”