Won't object to CBI probe in Walayar rape case if victims' parents demand same in HC: Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that the government will not object to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the Walayar minor sisters' rape case if the parents demand the same in the High Court.

The case pertains to two minor Dalit girls, who were found hanging inside their one-room home in the border district of Walayar in Palakkad 52 days apart in 2017. The post-mortem examinations had confirmed that the minors were subjected to sexual assault before their deaths.

Replying in the Assembly here on Wednesday to a notice of adjournment motion moved by Congress MLA Shanimol Usman on growing incidents of crime against women and children, Vijayan said that State government has filed 6 appeals in the High Court after the trial court acquitted all the accused in the deaths of minor girls who had been sexually abused at Walayar.

"A retired district judge, PK Hanifa, has been appointed as an inquiry commissioner under the Commissions of Inquiry Act to investigate the deaths of girls. It has been made clear that the government will not object to any inquiry including CBI probe if the parents demand it in the court," he said.

After the notice to move adjournment motion was rejected, Congress-led opposition staged a walkout from the Assembly.