Walayar rape-murder case: Pinarayi govt moves HC for re-investigation

The Pinarayi Vijayan government on Wednesday filed an appeal in the Kerala High Court seeking re-investigation and retrial in the controversial case of rape and murder of two minor girls in Walayar in 2017.

The two minor girls, who were sisters, were found hanging after being sexually assaulted in January and March 2017 in Attappalam in Walayar, near Kerala's border with Tamil Nadu. The victims were aged 11 and nine years; the older child was killed first.

The Vijayan government has been facing relentless criticism from opposition political parties and activists after all five people accused in the case were acquitted by a court in Palakkad. The accused were discharged on the grounds of lack of evidence.

Reports on Wednesday indicated that the government had admitted to the Kerala High Court that there were lapses in the investigation of the Walayar case. The Kerala government admitted there had been no action against witnesses in the case who had allegedly changed their testimonies. Furthermore, the investigation into the death of the first child had not factored in the possibility of rape.

Last week, the mother of the two victims approached the Kerala High Court, seeking the quashing of the lower court orders that acquitted all the accused. The Kerala High Court called the acquittals incorrect and pulled up the government for shoddy investigation.

On Tuesday, the Congress sought the intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to initiate a CBI probe into the Walayar case. The Congress alleged that the ruling CPI(M) was shielding the accused in the case.

On Monday, Vijayan informed the state Assembly that the special prosecutor in the Walayar case had been removed.