Kerala govt orders judicial probe into death of dalit siblings

After facing flak over the alleged shoddy police probe into the death of two minor dalit sisters, who were sexually exploited, the Kerala government on Thursday ordered a judicial inquiry in the sensational case in which all the accused were acquitted.

A decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Judicial inquiry would be conducted by former district judge P K Haneefa.

"The judicial commission will look into the lapses during the investigation or during the trial in the case, if any.

Former District Judge and state Minority Commission Chairman P K Haneefa has been appointed," Vijayan said in his Facebook post said.

The Commission would submit a report suggesting action against those who are responsible for the lapses in the case, he said.

POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court had acquitted all the five accused in the case citing lack of evidence.

The opposition Congress led UDF had raised the issue in the assembly several times demanding an independent probe alleging that the accused were close to the ruling CPI(M).

Meanwhile, KPCC President, Mullappally Ramachandran said the matter requires to be probed by the CBI.

"It's not the judicial probe we want. We need a CBI investigation. Only the CBI can apprehend the real culprits in the matter... Congress party has been seeking a CBI enquiry from the beginning.

This move is to save the culprits close to the Left party," Ramachandran said in a release.

The parents of the two girls have once again reiterated their plea for a CBI probe.

They had also come to the state capital and met chief minister to press their demand.

Two minor girls were found hanging inside their house at Walayar in suspicious circumstances.

The elder child, aged 13, was found dead on January 13, 2017, and her younger nine-year old sister, had died 52 days later.

There were five accused in the case and separate charge sheets were filed against each accused.

However, they were acquitted.

Days after their acquittal, the Kerala government had on November 18 removed the Public Prosecutor who handled the case.

Two days later, the government filed an appeal in the High Court, challenging the acquittal, saying the lower court verdict was "absolutely perverse and wholly unsustainable."