The Kerala High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the mysterious death of an 11-year-old girl in Palakkad district, transferring the case from the Crime Branch after pointing to shortcomings in the investigation.
The case dates back to 2010, within the limits of the Kollengode police station, where the Crime Branch had earlier stated that the girl died by suicide by hanging. Members of a justice campaign group from Walayar approached the High Court challenging that conclusion.
In their petition, the group said that between 2010 and 2023, as many as 28 children below the age of 13 died under suspicious circumstances in border areas of Palakkad district. They also cited the post-mortem report in the 11-year-old’s case, which reportedly noted signs suggestive of sexual assault and injuries on the body, arguing that the death may not have been a suicide and that the possibility of murder was not properly examined.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Shyamkumar, after reviewing the Crime Branch report, criticised the police and said there were irregularities in the probe. The court directed that the 11-year-old’s case be handed over to the CBI immediately, asked the agency to file a status report on the Walayar sisters’ death case already under CBI investigation, and to state its position on other child death cases registered at multiple police stations including Walayar, Kasaba, Kollengode, Pattambi, Solayur and Chittur. The bench also said the CBI may seek assistance from the Palakkad district Superintendent of Police to collect details of these cases.
