Mother of Walayar Rape Victims to Contest Against Kerala CM Vijayan in Dharmadom

The mother of the two minor Dalit sisters, who were sexually assaulted and murdered in Walayar in 2017, will contest as an Independent candidate against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the Dharmadom constituency, she announced on Tuesday, reported the Indian Express.

She stated that her candidacy was a protest against the LDF government and the chief minister for allegedly shielding and defending the police officers who initially investigated the case, which resulted in the accused being acquitted by a trial court verdict. Following an appeal by the state government, the verdict was set aside by the High Court, and a fresh trial was ordered.

“After discussions with the protest committee, I have decided to contest as an independent in Dharmadom. To get justice for my daughters, I was forced to sit on the streets and tonsure my head. Police officers like DySP Sojan and SI Chacko deserve to be out of service. I want to see them without the police cap on their head,” she told media in Thrissur, stated the report.

The older of the two sisters, aged 13, was discovered hanging from a rafter inside the family’s one-room home near Walayar on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border on January 13, 2017. Two months later, on March 4, the younger sibling, who was nine years old, was discovered hanging from the same rafter, sparking widespread outrage throughout the state.

The two children were sexually assaulted before they died, according to post-mortem examinations. Five people were arrested by the police after the demonstrations.

However, on October 25, 2019, a special POCSO court acquitted three of the defendants, while another defendant had already been found not guilty. The prosecution failed miserably in arguing the accused’s crimes beyond a reasonable doubt, according to the judge.

The High Court in January this year set aside the verdict of the trial court, and ordered the re-arrest of the accused and a re-trial of the case. The state government also decided to hand over the case to the CBI.