Walayar sisters' mother seeks legal opinion to move Kerala HC

The mother of sisters, who allegedly committed suicide after being sexually abused, consulted lawyers and legal experts to move Kerala High Court seeking fresh probe into the deaths of her daughters by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In the next few days, a legal team is expected to file a petition on her behalf.

The mother had maintained that she does not have confidence in the State police to conduct an unbiased investigation even if a fresh probe is ordered by the State. She has alleged that the police from the Kasaba circle of Palakkad had compromised the probe by not just releasing the accused but also tampered with crucial evidence to shield them. 

The family had met Kerala Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan on and reportedly urged the state government to hand over the probe to CBI. Sources claim that while Vijayan had expressed that the state cannot, at this juncture, hand over the case to the central agency but will not oppose the same if a petition is filed in court. 

PIL seeking CBI probe rejected

On Friday, the Kerala High Court rejected a Public Interest Litigation which was filed seeking a CBI probe into the circumstances of the death of the two sisters. Stating that the verdict in the case had already been pronounced, the court observed that it relook into the plea for a central agency probe if the family or investigating officers filed a similar petition as it won't be right to intervene through a PIL. 

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'Did not know NCPCR was visiting the village': Mother

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) members who were in Walayar to meet the girls’ parents and offer them assistance returned to Delhi after waiting to meet them. Even as the NCRPC has registered a Suo Moto case in the issue, the mother claimed that she was not aware that they were coming from Delhi to meet her so was not available in Walayar. She has also denied allegations that the family deliberately stayed longer in Thiruvananthapuram to avoid meeting NCPCR members. 

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No ties of accused with CPM Govt: CPI(M) district president

The Palakkad district secretary of the CPI(M), C K Rajendran, once again denied allegations that the local leaders of the party were closely involved in safeguarding the accused. Rajendran claimed that the accused were neither party workers nor associated with anyone in CPI(M). While admitting police lapses in probing the case, he said that the accusation that it was done so at the party’s behest was a conspiracy to tarnish the CPI(M). 

Read | Walayar rape & murder: BJP protests outside law minister's residence

Opposition escalates protests

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have been intensifying protests against the Kerala Government and the Chief Minister across the State. The BJP and its various wings have been staging continuous protests in Walayar and in the capital Thiruvananthapuram for close to a week now. The Congress-led UDF is also mounting pressure on the government, with a series of protests planned this week. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran is expected to meet the family in Walayar and also lead a hartal in Palakkad on November 5.

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