KOLLAM: A day after a circle inspector was suspended on charges of dereliction of duty in the investigation on the sexual assault and death of a 10-year-old girl at Kundara, another Police official has been placed under suspension.
Kundara sub inspector D Rajeesh Kumar was suspended on Thursday by Thiruvananthapuram Range IG Manoj Abraham for laxity in the investigation.
Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team under the Kollam Rural superintendent of police S Surendran is said to have taken nine persons, including the victim's mother into custody. A case under POCSO has been registered and the investigation is progressing, said sources.
Earlier, the police had said that the girl's mother had ruled out the possibility of a sexual assault. She had reportedly even threatened to commit suicide if the police proceeded with the probe.
The girl was found hanging from the window of her house two months ago and a suicide note found near her body stated, “Family issues pushed me to take the extreme step”. The 'suicide note' has been sent to the Thiruvananthapuram Forensic Lab as they could not confirm its authenticity, said police.
On Wednesday, the girl’s father had accused the police of lackadaisical attitude in probing the case.
“The claims of police into investigation are hollow. They were groping in the dark, even after two months of the death. The postmortem report confirms sexual harassment and spotted 22 injuries in her body. Also, the police is yet to confirm the authenticity of the suicide note. This is a clear case of dereliction,” alleged a family member.