Kerala: Walayar victims' mother condemns government's decision to grant IPS status to SP M J Sojan
The Kerala government has rejected the plea of the Walayar victims' mother to withhold the integrity certificate needed for SP M J Sojan's IPS conferment. The mother criticized the government's decision, stating that it rewards Sojan, whom she accuses of sabotaging the case to protect the accused.
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FollowPalakkad: The state government rejected the request made by the mother of the Walayar rape case victims to withhold the integrity certificate needed for the conferment of IPS to Superintendent of Police (SP) M J Sojan. The mother told Asianet News that the government's hasty move, even before the court's verdict, is a challenge to both the court and the victims.
The mother of the Walayar girls told Asianet News that the government's move is a reward for shielding the accused. She stated that Sojan was the one who sabotaged the case and saved all the accused, and the IPS rank was his reward. The mother questioned why Sojan, who is still under scrutiny, is being hastily granted IPS status. She added that the government is once again proving that it stands with the hunters, challenging both the victims and the court.
Last year, V Bhagyavathy, the mother of the victims, moved the Kerala High Court against the consideration of Sojan for IPS conferment. She argued that Sojan had made derogatory remarks about her daughters on a TV channel and, therefore, should not be issued an integrity certificate.
On January 7, 2017, a 13-year-old girl was found hanging in her home in Attappallam. On March 4, 2017, her 9-year-old younger sister was also found hanging in the same house. On March 6, 2017, a special investigation team led by Palakkad ASP G. Poonguzhal was formed to investigate the case. Although the post-mortem report released on March 12, 2017, revealed that the deceased girls were victims of unnatural sexual abuse, the police filed a charge sheet on June 22, 2019, stating that the sisters' deaths were suicides. The first verdict in the case was delivered on October 9, 2019, acquitting Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Cherthala, who was named as the third accused, due to lack of evidence. On October 25, 2019, the court also acquitted the other accused, V. Madhu, M. Madhu, and Shibu.
On November 19, 2019, the mother of the girls approached the High Court, requesting that the verdict be annulled and a retrial be conducted. On March 18, 2020, the Haneefa Commission found that there were lapses on the part of the police and the prosecution. On November 4, 2020, the third accused, Pradeep Kumar, committed suicide. In January 2021, the High Court annulled the trial court's verdict that had acquitted the accused. Subsequently, the case was handed over to the CBI. The CBI, after taking over the case, filed an FIR in the Palakkad POCSO Court on April 1, 2021. However, the POCSO Court in Palakkad dismissed the CBI's charge sheet on August 10, 2022, which concluded that the Walayar girls' deaths were suicides.
Subsequently, an order was issued for a further investigation. The directive was that the Special Crime Branch of the CBI's Thiruvananthapuram unit should conduct this further investigation. The order for further investigation was given when the CBI, like the local police, concluded that the girls' deaths were suicides.
Walayar sexual assault case: Fourth accused found hanging in Aluva
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