Thiruvananthapuram/Palakkad: A day after the Kerala High Court set aside the POCSO court verdict acquitting the accused in the sexual abuse and murder of two teen girls in Walayar, the victims parents have demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Criticising the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for not keeping his promise to bring the guilty to book, the parents warned that their agitation seeking justice would continue until all demands were met.
They want the CBI probe to be under the supervision of the High Court.
The aggrieved parents of the two deceased minor girls reached the Chief Minister’s Office in the state capital at 3.40 pm on Thursday with a petition seeking CBI investigation. However, they could not hand over the request personally to the Chief Minister as he had gone out. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister's Office informed that the petition had been received.
The duo wanted the prosecution to approach the High Court to obtain the CBI’s consent to take over the case. As soon as the sanction is received, further procedures have to be carried out. "The case should not be sabotaged again. The police officers who were behind this need to be removed from service. Interventions by DySP M J Sojan and Sub-Inspector Chacko had caused setbacks in the investigation. They should face action," they said.
Another mother's plea
Meanwhile, in Palakkad, Elizabeth Rani, the mother of John Praveen, who took his own life after being questioned in the case, has also demanded action against the police officers allegedly responsible for his death.
Praveen, a friend of the main accused, was brutally tortured by the DySP and asked to bear the responsibility of the murders even though he was innocent, said Elizabeth.
The special investigation team had taken Praveen into custody and released him after interrogation. He was not made an accused in the case. Later, he was summoned to the police station again on April 25, 2017. That day, Praveen was found hanging near his house.
"Praveen had injuries all over his body when he reached home after his first interrogation. He could barely walk. In fact, he had not come home even a day after the police took him. So, I went to the Kasaba CI Office in Puthussery to enquire. The police said that Praveen wasn’t there. But I saw his footwear outside the office and pleaded with the officers to let him go. They released him only then," explained Elizabeth.
The police tortured Praveen only because he was a friend of the main accused, said Elizabeth. "He committed suicide when the investigators summoned him to the police station a second time. Praveen was afraid that he would be made an accused. Moreover, he felt that it would shame our family," she added.
Elizabeth also said that no police officer reached their house to take a statement after Praveen’s suicide. "I will also approach the High Court seeking action against the DySP who tried to falsely implicate Praveen," she said.
The double tragedy
The older girl, who was 13 years old, was found hanging at the dilapidated house at Shelvapuram in Walayar on January 13, 2017. On March 4 that year, her nine-year-old sister was found dead in the same manner. Autopsy reports revealed that the sisters had been sexually assaulted.
On Wednesday, the High Court ordered a retrial in the sensational case while considering the appeals led by the children's mother and the state government.