In what could be a major embarrassment to the Government of Kerala as well as the police, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday set aside the verdict of the trial court in the infamous Walayar Sex Abuse case and ordered retrial of the case.
A bench of Justices A Hariprasad and M R Anitha lambasted the Kerala Police, prosecution and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Court at Palakkad for goofing up the case through lackadaisical probe and trial.
The High Court also set aside the acquittal of all the four accused in the case. They have been asked to present themselves before the court on January 20. But Pradeep, one of the accused had committed suicide after the trial court verdict.
All the accused are reportedly CPI(M) activists and associates of party leaders.
Two Dalit sisters aged 13 and nine respectively at Walayar in Palakkadu district were found dead under mysterious conditions in January and March of 2017. The autopsy had found that both the girls were victims of ‘cruel sexual abuse’.
Though there were enough hints and evidences suggesting foul play behind the deaths, the police looked the other way and did not pursue the case by applying the mind, said the verdict. The justices said the POCSO Court judges and the police needed basic training in dealing with cases like this.
The mother of the victims said after the High Court verdict that the CBI should be entrusted with the investigation of the case as the parents had lost confidence in the Kerala Police. The father of the girls told the media that he was under pressure by the police to own up the responsibility behind the deaths. “I was told be the police that they would make sure that I was set free during the trial,” he said.