Vandiperiyar rape, murder case: Kerala govt suspends investigating officer

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 1 (PTI) Hours after the Congress-led UDF slammed the state government in the assembly for its alleged "carelessness" and "indifference" in the Vandiperiyar rape-cum-murder case, the Left administration suspended the police officer who investigated the matter.

The suspension order, issued by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) M R Ajithkumar, indicates that the action has been taken based on the adverse observations by the trial court against the investigating officer in the case.

The ADGP's order said that the investigating officer, presently posted in a police station in Ernakulam Rural district, has been placed under suspension with immediate effect pending enquiry against him.

The enquiry would be carried out by the Ernakulam Rural Additional SP, it said.

Earlier in the day, the opposition UDF accused the Left government of "deliberately" trying to protect the accused in the case, right from the start, and claimed it was the reason behind his acquittal.

On December 14 last year, a court in Kerala acquitted a man accused of raping and killing a six-year-old girl, who was his neighbour, at Churukkulam estate in the mountainous Idukki district of the state in June 2021.

In the assembly today, the opposition, in an adjournment motion seeking suspension of the scheduled business of the house, urged the government to order a reinvestigation into the case.

Pointing out that one-and-a-half months have gone by since the trial court verdict, the UDF criticised the "lethargic" and "unscientific" probe by the police and slammed the government for not taking any action against the investigating officer.

Denying the allegations in the motion and rejecting the opposition demand to suspend the scheduled business of the house, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan argued that the police had lodged a case in a timely manner and carried out an investigation.

Terming the crime unfortunate, the CM further said that the government has filed an appeal in the Kerala High Court against the trial court decision.

The government is also considering department-level action, taking into consideration the trial court's criticism of the police investigation.

The Fast Track Special Court for the trial of offences under the POCSO Act acquitted the accused, Arjun, saying "the prosecution failed to establish all the circumstances which are consistent with the guilt of the accused and inconsistent with his innocence." The trial court had said that the investigating officer (IO) adopted a "lethargic attitude" throughout the investigation.

The girl was found hanging inside her house on June 30, 2021 when her parents went out for work in a nearby plantation.

Police had initially registered a case of unnatural death but the autopsy report confirmed that the child was raped before she was hanged. PTI