8 years after death, Kerala HC directs CBI to probe Alappuzha girl's death

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the death of a schoolgirl in Alappuzha in suspicious circumstances eight years ago. The order was made in response to a plea after the complainant claimed that the local police and Crime Branch failed to get to the bottom of the case.

Shreya Benny, 12, was found dead on December 17, 2010, in a pond at a Church-run institution that was hosting a personality development camp. A native of Kalarcode in Alappuzha, the girl was attending the three-day event at Kripa Bhavan in Cherthala.

On Wednesday, justice Sunil Thomas ordered a CBI probe on the death of the girl, daughter of Ezharaparayil Benny of Kaithavana near coastal Alappuzha.

Earlier two investigations had focused on suspects, including the organisers of the Kripa Bhavan event. The phone calls they made on their mobile numbers were examined. Investigations were also carried out on those who reached the pond on hearing the news and those who spread the notion that Shreya had died after falling into the pond while sleepwalking.

According to an attendee at the camp on the fateful night, the girl had gotten up from her sleep past midnight. The girl asked Shreya what she was up to, but got no reply, according to her statement to the police. Shreya had gone to sleep that night along with 11 other girls and a Sister who were in charge of them.

The fellow girl told south circle inspector V K Sanalkumar that Shreya had slept near the door and was seen combing her hair around 12.45 am. For the past two days, Shreya seemed mentally disturbed, the statement added.

The post-mortem report says Shreya died of drowning in the pond, but it is still unclear how she reached the spot.