Thrissur: The mother of the two girls found dead in Walayar under suspicious circumstances in 2017 on Tuesday announced that she will contest against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as an independent candidate in the Dharmadom constituency in Kannur district in the upcoming Kerala Assembly polls.
"I want justice for my daughters. I had met the chief minister at Thiruvananthapuram...cried and begged him to ensure that those responsible for the death of my children be brought to book. I will contest against Vijayan as an independent. Except the Sangh Parivar, we will take support of everyone," she told reporters here.
Last month, she had tonsured her head to protest against the failure of the government to initiate action against the police officials who allegedly committed lapses in the probe into the deaths of her two daughters. She shaved her head after staging a month-long satyagraha here since January 26. Besides her, two activists also tonsured their heads, expressing solidarity with the victims' mother.
On Saturday, she had lashed out at the chief minister for "breaking his promise". She said the chief minister had promised to take action against the police officers, but instead promoted one.
She was speaking to media in Kozhikode in the course of her 'Neethi Yatra' taken out from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram seeking action against the two police officers who investigated the two cases. The campaign will end at Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram on April 4.
The chief minister, who is seeking re-election from Dharmadam, had filed his nomination on Monday. While the BJP has fielded former state president C K Padmanabhan, the Congress led UDF is yet to announce its candidate.
UDF likely to support
Welcoming the decision, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran on Tuesday said the United Democratic Front (UDF) will take a decision on backing her in the election after discussions with its allies.
The case
The bodies of the two children were found on January 13 and March 4, 2017. The case is presently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It is suspected they were sexually abused and killed by their exploiters, likely a few in the vicinity of their home.
Allowing appeals filed by the state government and the mother of the children, the court had, on January 6, ordered the re-trial by observing that there were serious lapses in the investigation and that there has been a miscarriage of justice.
A Division Bench of Justices A Hariprasad and M R Anitha had set aside an October 2019 order of a POCSO Court acquitting the five accused in the case for want of evidence.
The oldest of the siblings, aged 13, was found hanging in their hut in Walayar in Palakkad district on January 13, 2017, and the younger one (9) on March 4 the same year.
Public outcry and protests had erupted in the state after the acquittal of the accused, seeking justice for the family of the girls.
The state government had, on November 18, 2019, removed the Public Prosecutor who handled the case and later filed the appeal in the High Court.
