Walayar girls' death: 'CBI yet to find the cause of death', observes Kerala HC
KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday orally observed that whether the suspicious death of two minor girls in Walayar was suicide or murder is yet to be found out by CBI. "The two victims are alleged to have committed suicide. Whether it was a suicide or murder is yet to be examined. In this circumstance, the court cannot pass an order in the bail pleas," observed Justice P Gopinath.
While considering the bail pleas filed by Madhu alias Valiya Madhu and Shibu, the court also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to furnish the stage of investigation and the approximate time required to submit the final report in the matter.
The CBI submitted that the nature of the victims' deaths was also yet to be ascertained. "This is a case where the petitioners were acquitted by the trial court but a Division Bench of this Court found that the methods utilised by the prosecution were lackadaisical. It was found that several prosecution witnesses had turned hostile," observed the court.
The matter has been posted to be taken up on December 21. Two of the accused, V Madhu and NT Shibu were in judicial custody. Another accused, M Madhu, was granted bail by the High Court.
The third accused in the case, Pradeep, died by suicide. The fifth accused in the case was a minor, who is being tried by the Juvenile Justice Board. It was in 2017 that the siblings aged 13 and nine were found hanging in their house at Attappallam on different days.