The CBI team probing the death of two minor girls in Palakkad's Walayar in 2017 has recorded the statement of the children's mother. The investigation team visited the woman at her house and took the statements of two witnesses also.
The CBI is preparing a complete sketch of the shed where the girls where found dead.
The CBI team is headed by SP B Ramanathan, and DySP T P Ananthakrishnan. The officers belong to the special crime branch, Thiruvananthapuram.
On April 22, a CBI team led by former SP Nandakumaran Nair had visited the victims' house and collected evidence. The team had recorded the statements of the children's parents, the police officers who had investigated the case, witnesses and accused. The team had also initiated the steps to collect information from a DySP who was part of the police investigation team. However, the investigation hit a roadblock with the Covid second wave. SP B Ramanathan took over the probe after Nandakumaran Nair retired.
The girls' mother said she had full confidence in the CBI investigation. "I will fully cooperate with the CBI. They said they will seek more information. I believe that my children will get justice," she said.
The CBI has registered two FIRs in the case. The CBI took up the case on the orders of the Kerala High Court which had directed the agency to take over the probe without any delay.
The eldest girl, aged 13, was found hanging inside their hut on January 13, 2017 and the younger sister (9) on March 4.
Walayar police had come to the conclusion that the girls were sexually abused in unnatural way by five persons including a juvenile for nearly one year till they were forced to commit suicide by the accused by trespassing into their dwelling.
In January, the high court had ordered a re-trial in the case, considering a plea challenging order of a special POCSO court in Palakkad, acquitting the five accused for want for evidence.
The high court on March 19 had directed the CBI to take up the probe into the Walayar case.
The high court gave the directive after considering the state government's consent for the CBI probe into the case.
The central agency can take over any investigation in Kerala only with the consent of the state government.
Earlier, the state government had informed the court that it was not averse to a CBI investigation into the case.
The petition seeking the CBI investigation into the case was moved by the victims' mother. The woman had contested the assembly election against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his Dharmadom constituency as a protest against the failure of the state police in bringing the culprits to the book.
