Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said he was not in the habit of cheating any person let alone the anguished parents of the Dalit girls in Walayar.
Mr. Vijayan was responding to the allegation that he had done little to reverse the shoddy investigation that led to the acquittal of three persons suspected to be responsible for the suicide of the sisters within a space of a few days.
The law enforcement had come under intense criticism from across the political spectrum after a special court for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act acquitted three persons accused of exploiting the girls sexually and abetting their suicide in 2017.
Janayugam, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of India, wrote a scathing opinion piece damning the police for failing to prosecute the case properly.
Mr. Vijayan said the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party were attempting to weaponise the grief of the parents against the government ahead of the elections.
Plea filed in HC
The government had filed an urgent memorandum in the High Court to overturn the verdict and order a reinvestigation. The court had stayed the release of the suspects after it realised the gravity of the government’s plea. Moreover, the government had appointed a commission of inquiry headed by retired district judge P.K. Haneefa to probe the matter. Mr. Haneefa submitted his report, which the government tabled in the Assembly.
Action against officers
Flaws in prosecution and investigation had led to the acquittal of the accused. The government had removed the errant prosecutors and suspended the investigating officers pending inquiry. More stringent action was under way against them. Moreover, the mother of the girls had reiterated her confidence in the LDF government, he said.
