Kerala government to file plea in Walayar case

Kochi: The government has moved quickly to undo the damage done to its image with the acquittal of all the accused in the rape and murder case of two siblings at Walayar, following a public outcry.

It will file an appeal in the High Court within two or three days against the order of the PoCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court, Palakkad, discharging the accused after the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them.

Director-General of Prosecution (DGP) Manjery Sreedharan Nair told this paper on Monday that the government will seek to annul the verdict and reinvestigate the case. The order of the Palakkad district judge, who is also the PoCSO judge, had triggered a major controversy with the utter failure of the investigation to fix the guilty.

The elder sibling aged 13 was found hanging in their one-room hut on January 13, 2017 and the younger one, 9, on March 4, that year. The two were subjected to repeated sexual assaults. Although the local police initially tried to project the incident as suicide, they later registered cases for rape and possible foul play under public pressure.

The investigation team charge-sheeted five persons, including a minor, for rape and abetment of suicide. V. Madhu alias Valiya Madhu, 27, Shibu , 43, and M. Madhu alias Kutty Madhu were acquitted on October 25, while Pradeep Kumar was discharged earlier.