The mother of the Walayar girls announced that she would stand as a candidate against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadom in the upcoming Kerala Assembly Polls. In a press conference in Thrissur today, she said that she would be contesting as an independent candidate. The mother of the two Dalit girls found dead in Walayar in 2017 said that the trust she placed on the Chief Minister’s promise of justice was misplaced. “We were taken for a ride right from the beginning,” she said.
Contesting in the upcoming elections would give her the opportunity to raise her voice against the CM who had not kept his promise to stand by her family. The mother of the two minor girls had tonsured her head on February 27 protesting the alleged inaction against the accused officers who had “botched” the initial investigation. The two sisters – aged 13 years and nine years – were found dead, hanging from the rafter within 52 days. In October 2019, a POCSO court acquitted all four accused in the case for lack of evidence.
“One of those police officers was promoted and it prompted me to fight for justice once again. MJ Sojan who investigated the case is now SP and has been recommended to be conferred IPS. He sabotaged the investigation,” the mother said. She added that the Chief Minister had promised her that action would be taken against police officers but instead promoted one. “Why are the police trying so hard to save a few daily wage workers? I wonder whether the accused are the real culprits or whether someone else is involved,” she said.
On January 6, the High Court termed the initial police investigation as ineffective, “debilitating the DySP’s efforts to effectually reinvestigate the case”. “A lack of efficient investigation by an officer is embarrassing to the entire state police force. The government must make sure that their police officers can professionally handle such cases. Serious lapses in the investigation of such high profile cases can create contempt for the state government,” the HC observed.
Meanwhile, the Congress party who had earlier suggested she stand against Pinarayi has yet to field a candidate at Dharmadom. It remains to be seen if the party will extend their support to the Walayar girls’ mother for the upcoming elections as she had earlier refused to stand against Pinarayi.
