The mother of Walayar girls began her ‘Neethi Yatra’ (Justice March) demanding reinvestigation and action against guilty police officials in the case, begins today from Kasargod. The yatra, led by Walayar Neethi Samithi, will end at Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram on April 4.
Earlier, as a part of intensifying the protest, the mother of Walayar girls shaved her head at the pandal where she was protesting. Even before the satyagraha, she had confirmed that she would launch a campaign against the LDF government’s protection of the officials, who had originally investigated the crimes if the state authorities did not initiate a probe against them.
In solidarity with the mother, Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM) leader Saleena Prakkanam and writer Bindu Kamalan also shaved their heads. Advocate Jalaja Madhavan, who had gone on a hunger strike demanding justice for the mother, was earlier arrested and shifted to a hospital due to deteriorating health.
Earlier this month, over 100 people including women and children tonsured their heads seeking immediate action against personnel who had committed lapses in the investigation into the death of two minor Dalit sisters after alleged sexual assault four years ago.
The sensational Walayar case happened in 2017 when the two girls were found hanging in their house in Palakkad. The 13-year-old elder sister was found on January 13, following which the nine-year-old younger girl had testified that she saw her sister’s attackers. The younger girl was found dead on March 4 in a similar fashion.
