PALAKKAD: Walayar, a backward area on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border which is home to many Scheduled Caste and Tribe families who live by doing odd jobs for daily wages, has witnessed 42 Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act cases since the law came into force in 2012. The most disconcerting fact is that no accused has ever been convicted till date, admit the Walayar police.
“Most parents go for work during daytime as in the case of the Walayar minor Dalit sisters. During this time, the children who return from school are left alone in the houses. It is the youths in the neighbourhood and relatives who often exploit the situation and abuse even minors,” says M Balamurali, member of Pudussery panchayat.
He says that not far from the house at Attappalam where the two minor girls were found hanging in their hut after being sexually abused, another girl who is currently pursuing her Plus Two had faced a similar experience. Her father had died earlier. The mother goes out for odd jobs including MNREGS work. The culprit was her father’s brother. The case was reportedly settled out of court as the victim did not want to pursue it, he said.
“Girls whose parents go out for work are often not secure as the people in the neighbourhood also go out for similar works. Moreover, the parents themselves bring other people to the houses and engage in drinking after work,” says Balamurali.Since the accused are often relatives or neighbours, cases are mostly settled by the families out of court.
This is the reason why though 42 cases have been registered in the Walayar police station, only 18 cases have reached the trial stage in the Special Pocso Court, he adds. Even in the present case, two of the accused, V Madhu and M Madhu, were close relatives of the girls’ mother, while another accused, Shibu, a native of Idukki, had been living with the family for eight years till 2017 when the incidents happened and had accompanied the parents to construction work sites. Pradeep Kumar, another adult accused, and a juvenile accused are neighbours.
Pocso cases at Walayar station
Location Kerala-Tamil Nadu border
Number of Pocso cases till date: 42
Convictions: 0
Cases in which accused were acquitted: 5
Cases dismissed due to various reasons: 11
Under investigation: 8
Trial stage: 18