CBI names parents as accused in Walayar rape and suicide case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court that heard on Wednesday the 2017 Walayar rape and suicide case involving two minor girls accepted the six charge sheets filed by the CBI, in which the parents of the children were made the accused, while three more cases are under investigation and two others will be dealt with by the Juvenile Justice Board in Palakkad.

CBI) has decided to name the victims' parents as accused in all 11 cases registered in connection with the incident, The Indian Express reported.

The case revolves around the deaths of two sisters, aged 9 and 13, who were found hanging in their house in Walayar, Palakkad, in early 2017. The police had concluded that the girls died by suicide after allegedly suffering repeated sexual abuse by five individuals, including a juvenile.

In 2019, a special POCSO court acquitted four of the accused, citing a lack of scientific evidence linking them to the offences mentioned in the chargesheet. Following appeals by the state government and the girls’ mother, a sessions court in August 2022 directed a CBI probe into the case.

The CBI has now submitted six charge sheets against the parents at the court in Kochi, accusing them of abetting the repeated sexual abuse of their daughters. The agency has alleged that the father had been aware of the abuse and had continued to associate with one of the accused at their home even after the eldest daughter reached puberty. The charge sheets further state that the parents' actions facilitated the continued mistreatment of the children.

The court has accepted the six charge sheets filed against the parents and scheduled the next hearing for March 25. The parents, who were initially witnesses during the police investigation, now face charges under Section 109 of the IPC, Section 21 of the POCSO Act, and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.