The Kerala High Court has ordered a CBI inquiry into the suspicious death of a minor girl in Thiruvananthapuram in March last year. The court’s order came after 8 months of police inquiries that couldn’t pinpoint the accused.
Justice Bechu Kurian Joseph’s bench ordered a CBI inquiry after the mother of the deceased approached the High Court.
On March 29, 2023, the 13-year-old girl was found unconscious, in the bathroom of her residence located in the police quarters. She was rushed to hospital but died on April 1, 2023.
The post-mortem report stated that the death was caused by intra-cranial haemorrhage. It was also found that the girl had been subjected to continuous acts of sexual abuse through vaginal and anal penetrations.
The case was initially investigated by the Museum Police under Section 174/CrPC. Based on the post-mortem report on April 2, 2023, another crime was registered on April 12, 2023, at the Museum Police station under Sections 376 DA, 376E, & 377 of the IPC, and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012.
After a brief period, the investigation was transferred to the District Crime Branch. The petitioner, the mother of the deceased, alleged that the investigating team hasn’t been able to make progress considering the seriousness of the crime. She filed a writ petition for a CBI probe in the Kerala High Court, alleging that higher officials are trying to cover up the case because the minor was found in the police quarters.
She informed the court that police didn’t question her daughter’s friends well. Considering these factors, the High Court ordered a CBI probe.