The CBI reinvestigation into the Walayar case, in which two minor sisters were found dead under mysterious circumstances, is set to enter a crucial phase. The POCSO court here will announce its decision on the CBI request for a lie detection test of the accused on October 30.
A group of rights activists took out a march to the CBI office here on Saturday demanding that a lie detection test be done on the Walayar victims’ mother. Some relatives of the victims as well as the accused took part in the march led by Raymant Antony and M.M. Kabeer.
One of the relatives of the victims demanded that the girls’ stepfather be included in the case. He alleged that the stepfather had tortured the girls mentally and physically.
The CBI is reportedly trying all possible options in the case, especially in the wake of the POCSO court rejecting its first chargesheet. The recent death of the fourth accused in the case under mysterious circumstances at Aluva too is adding sensation even while complicating the case.
Found hanging
In 2017, the Walayar sisters aged 13 and nine were found hanging in their house at Attappallam near Walayar. While the elder girl was found hanging on January 7, her younger sister was found dead in the same manner on March 4.
There were five accused in the case. Two of them died, and the remaining three are facing charges. One of them was a minor during the incident.
Nation-wide outrage
The police found that the girls committed suicide following mental and physical abuses. However, the prosecution failed in getting conviction for the accused. The exoneration of the accused in 2019 triggered a nation-wide indignation, prompting the Kerala High Court to quash the verdict and order a reinvestigation by the CBI.
The POCSO court here rejected the chargesheet filed by the first CBI team saying that it was the “carbon copy” of the police findings. Following the court order, a new CBI team led by DySP V.S. Uma is currently reinvestigating the case.
