KOCHI: Each passing day, pieces of evidence are emerging how the police have blundered, resulting in the acquittal of the accused in the Dalit siblings’ death case in Walayar.Shoddy investigation apart, their attempts to plant witnesses to suit the prosecution’s case was thoroughly exposed when First Additional Sessions Judge Muralee Krishnan S found clear contradictions in their depositions. This was one of the main reasons that resulted in the acquittal of main accused Pradeep Kumar of Cherthala.
The Sessions Court, which found lack of scientific evidence to prove the crime against the accused, also disbelieved the evidence given by Sumathi (prosecution witness 9), Nisha (PW 10) and Rajana (PW 12) against Pradeep Kumar.
The three witnesses told the court that they had gone for electioneering with the deceased girl as she was scared of sitting alone in the house. When they met the accused on the way, the girl hid behind Sumathi. When they inquired about it, the girl told them that the accused was her neighbour and that he was not a good man.
“The evidence of PWs 9, 10 and 12 when analysed, raises serious doubts regarding the truthfulness of their depositions. PW9 deposed that they went for canvassing votes for the Legislative Assembly election. Whereas PW10 deposed that they went for election work for a student political organisation, namely SFI. (But) PW12, the supporting witness of the prosecution, deposed that they canvassed votes for the panchayat election. This contradiction itself is sufficient to doubt the genuineness of their depositions,” read the judgement.
“During cross examination, PW12 deposed they, along with the victim girl, went for canvassing votes about two years prior to the girl’s death.”
The judgment further said: “She said it was for the panchayat election in which her mother contested as a candidate. It is further deposed by PW12 that her mother was elected as a member of panchayat about four years back to the date of her deposing before the court. (However), the investigating officer DySP M J Sojan (PW28) deposed that during his investigation he understood that the girls went together for canvassing votes for the Legislative Assembly election of the year 2014.
“If the evidence of PW12 and PW28 is accepted, they went for canvassing in the year 2014 or 2015 with the victim girl.”With this, the evidence presented by police through the three witnesses fell flat as the prosecution had earlier claimed that the deceased girl was abused by the accused from January 2016 to September 2016.
The judgment said that deposition by PW8, who rented his house at Pudussery to the accused in 2016 makes it, “clear that there is no possibility of the deceased girl stating to PWs 9, 10, 12 prior to 2016 that the accused has been residing near her house and exposed private parts to her.
“These contradictions in the depositions of PWs 9, 10 and 12 show that they are planted witnesses to suit the prosecution’s case and these witnesses are deposing falsehood before the court with a view to help the prosecution,” the judgement added.
FOUL PLAY BY POLICE
The attempts of the police to plant witnesses to suit the prosecution’s case was thoroughly exposed when First Additional Sessions Judge Muralee Krishnan S found clear contradictions in their depositions
National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Chairperson Yashwant Jain will visit the house of the deceased Dalit girls on Thursday to probe the case