Palakkad: Amid the row over the failure of the prosecution to pin the blame on three accused of the deaths of two minor Dalit girls at Walayar in Kerala's Palakkad district, their mother has made a shocking disclosure over a similar incident decades ago.
"My elder sister and younger sister had suddenly collapsed and died. They were just 17 and 11 then. The autopsy report had said that they had died of poisoning. But none followed-up on that case then," she revealed about two other suspicious deaths in her own family.
The family is still clueless about what could have happened to the two girls on that fateful day, 23 years ago. The victims then were Jayapriya and Shantakumari.
The hapless woman said that if inquiries were done after their deaths two decades ago, then her own family would not have had to endure the same frightening situation now.
“If something effective was done then the culprits would not have the courage to do as they pleased to our family. At least my children could have been saved,” she lamented.
Her own children, aged 13 and 9, were found dead at the same spot in their house within two months in 2017. Both of them were allegedly sexually abused. A Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court had last week acquitted the three accused in the case, while noting that the prosecution had failed miserably to prove the crime.
The woman’s only prayer is that the current investigation should also not go astray.
The teens parents firmly believe that an honest probe would be carried out only if the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case.
"After the verdict, everyone has been talking for my children. If the investigation is carried out efficiently, then the culprits could be nabbed. However, they might try to finish us before that. But we are not concerned about that. My children should get justice. I will not back off until that is achieved," said the woman bravely even as tears rolled down her face.
'Suicide unlikely'
The woman has lost faith in the police with the recent acquittal of the suspects
"We have no trust in the police. They only tried to protect the killers of my children. The accused, who was taken into custody, was let off on the same day. Though our statements were recorded, none noted it," she alleged.
The woman also blamed the prosecutor for laxity over the case from the beginning.
"My children were not even old of enough to know what death was. Then how would they commit suicide? If they were under great mental duress, as is being claimed by the police, then either me or my husband would have noticed. I am sure my children were killed. What did anyone gain by killing two little children? I only have that to ask to those who are protecting the culprits?" Bemoaned the mother.
The woman further said that her house had been under the surveillance of the culprits and she was unaware of this.
She also raised doubts that the culprits could have communicated with one another when the kids were left alone in the house once their parents, who were daily wage labourers, left for work.
"My husband had seen one of the accused, a relative, harassing the elder child at our under-construction house. However, my husband, who had suffered from a near paralysis attack and was convalescing, could do nothing. However, when he created a ruckus, the accused fled. When I came to know of this, I had an altercation with him over the phone.
"When he came to our home next time, we threw him out. However, in less than a month, my elder child was found dead. I did not give a police complaint then as I was scared that it would bring disgrace to my child and it would affect the close relationship we had with the accused's family," she said.
