Kerala High Court orders CBI investigation into young girl’s murder inside police quarters

A CBI investigation into the unexplained death of a 13-year-old girl in Thiruvananthapuram on April 1, 2023, was mandated by the Kerala High Court on Tuesday.

The ruling was made by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, who also granted permission for the mother of the deceased to submit a petition asking the CBI to look into the matter that the Museum police had reported.

“The investigation team has made no breakthrough despite the investigation continuing for the last eight months,” the court said. The offenders are still at large. The court made the observation that an examination of the testimony provided by a few of the witnesses reveals suspicions regarding the involvement of particular individuals. On the other hand, it seems that no meaningful questions have been asked, and the investigating team has not done further in-depth work. It is impossible to fully rule out the possibility that police officers were involved since the victim was living within the police quarters and different police officers used to visit their homes. Under these conditions, the court believes that the CBI should be given the go-ahead to conduct the investigation in this matter. According to the autopsy, cerebral hemorrhage caused the death. But the autopsy also showed that the young youngster had been sexually abused repeatedly via penetrations of the anal and vaginal regions.

As the inquiry progressed, the District Crime Branch was given charge of the case due to the horrific nature of the suspected crime. The mother said that even after a major crime was reported, the investigating team was unable to identify the perpetrators and therefore make any progress. Numerous relevant factors have been disregarded, and no proactive measures have been taken to carry out an appropriate and scientific inquiry. None of the accused have been identified by the inquiry so far, and although there are a number of clues about individuals who could be under suspicion, none of them have been properly questioned. The petitioner said that because the girl was discovered sleeping in her parents’ police quarters in the toilet, it is impossible to fully rule out that police personnel were involved.