Palakkad: The Central Bureau Of Investigation has finally commenced probe into the mysterious deaths of two teenage girls at their residence in Walayar four years ago.
A CBI team visited Walayar and recorded the statement of the mother of two minor girls, who had been found hanging on different dates in 2017.
This was the first visit by the CBI sleuths to Walayar after taking over the sensational case. The team was led by Superintendent of Police (CBI, Thiruvananthapuram unit) Nandakumaran Nair, and the investigation officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) T P Ananthakrishnan.
The CBI team inspected the shed adjacent to the deceased girls’ house where they had been found dead. The elder girl, aged 13, was found hanging from the rafter on January 13, 2017, and her younger sister, aged nine, was found dead in the same manner on March 4.
The girls’ mother reportedly brought to the CBI’s notice a repeated allegation that the younger girl had been murdered to prevent her from deposing as the key witness in her sister’s case.
The investigators from the premier probe agency would record the statements of all concerned, including the sub-inspector of Walayar police, who had probed the case, and DySP M J Sojan, who submitted the chargesheet before the court.
The CBI took over the case after a Kerala High Court order. The agency recorded the two deaths in separate first information reports. The High Court had earlier cancelled the acquittal of all the accused by the trial court.
After the acquittal by the trial court, the girls’ mother demanded a CBI probe. The State government had in January this year decided to hand over the case to the CBI. The High Court ordered the CBI probe in March.
The accused in the case, Valiya Madhu and Shibu have been in remand, while Kutty Madhu has been out of jail on High Court bail. Another accused, Pradeep of Cherthala, had committed suicide. A minor has also been arraigned as an accused in the case.
The CBI probe is expected to answer several questions that have been widely debated: whether the accused named by the State police are the real culprits; were there more people involved in the crime; and what all evidence is remaining.