Palakkad: Jalaja Madhavan, the former Public Prosecutor (PP) in the sensational Walayar case regarding the alleged sexual assault and unnatural death of two girls, has charged Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan of creating a smokescreen over the issue.
At a press conference here, Jalaja said that the chief minister was not speaking with clarity and making statements without any basis. The former PP’s reaction came in the wake of the chief minister alleging lapses on the part of public prosecutors in the Walayar case which ultimately led to the weakening of the case.
At a press conference here the other day, he said the PP was removed for her omissions.
However, Jalaja countered the chief minister saying that she was removed from the post without giving any reason. "I was the public prosecutor in the Walayar case for barely three months. It was not me who argued the case right from the beginning to end,” she pointed out.
Jalaja also said when the LDF came to power in 2016, the special PPs of six districts, including Palakkad, who were appointed during the UDF's tenure, filed a case against the government and on the strength of the court's stay order they continued in the office. After losing the case in 2019, they were replaced by new PPs.
“Before I could complete three months, they removed me without showing any reason. The public prosecutor who was there during the UDF government's period was reappointed. What was the reason for appointing a special prosecutor of the UDF period?"
Jalaja said the chairman of Child Welfare Council had appeared for an accused in the Walayar case following which a probe was ordered into the matter. "I gave evidence on the issue in a truthful manner. Soon after I recorded my evidence they removed me from the post," she alleged.
Instead of just saying lapses on the part of prosecutors, the chief minister should categorically state as to who committed the lapse, when and where. "Why is the chief minister creating a smokescreen? She asked.
