The room where the two girls were found dead over a span of nearly 2 months in Walayar, Palakkad.Walayar: The latest developments in the mysterious death of two sisters aged thirteen and nine in a span of two months at Attappallam, near Walayar, have exposed inaction and lethargic attitude of the investigating officers.
Though the doctor who performed autopsy on the elderly girl’s body had raised the suspicion of sexual abuse, the police chose to ignore the report and termed it a clear case of suicide.
Following allegations that the lapses of the police team resulted in the death of the second girl, the authorities are now forced to look afresh into the cases.
Read: Did lax cops cause the death of second minor rape victim in Palakkad?
The latest revelations of the victims’ relatives and forensic reports indicated shocking lapses of the police team in following due process of law in the investigation of both incidents.
As per rules, law enforcement officers should rush to the spot if a case of unnatural death is reported. The elder sister committed suicide between 4.30 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. on January 13. The police were informed about the incident around 7.30 p. m., and they arrived at the death scene immediately. The officers inspected the spot after fencing off the area.
Rules stipulate that an FIR should be registered without delay based on primary evidence. Here, the police registered the FIR at 8.44 p.m.
As per law, an inquest should be conducted in the presence of four relatives and neighbors of the victim, and local body members. The police did conduct an inquest before recording statements of the victim’s stepfather and neighbors.
A head-to-toe assessment should be done and if there are cuts or bruises on the body, they should be recorded. The police examined the body and found a number of bruises.
The next procedure is to take the body for a postmortem examination. The girl’s body was handed over to the hospital for autopsy around 9 a.m. on January 14.
The investigators are required to collect key findings in the autopsy report from the police surgeon. In the case under review, the report prepared by the assistant surgeon indicated that there were signs of infection in her private parts, presumably due to some diseases or sexual assault. The report also carried a note that even if the forensic analysis result is negative, possibility of sexual abuse cannot be ruled out.
According to guidelines, suspects and persons living in the locality should be questioned on the basis of the autopsy report. However, no follow-up action was initiated by the police, who dropped the case after confirming that it was a case of suicide.
The younger girl was found dead under similar circumstances on March 4. After the postmortem report evidenced that the victim was subjected to unnatural sex more than once, the police added rape provisions of the IPC before registering a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
