The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Monday directed Chief Secretary Tom Jose and State Police Chief (SPC) Loknath Behera to appear before it on November 11 for a personal hearing in the Walayar case.
The summons were issued in connection with the acquittal of four accused in a case of alleged rape and suspicious death of two Dalit girls at Walayar for ‘lack of evidence’, NCSC Vice Chairman L. Murugan said.
The commission wanted to know about the lapses and reasons for the acquittal of the accused, those responsible for this and the measures to be taken for their conviction in a higher court through a water-tight prosecution case, he said.
Public outcry and protests erupted in Kerala seeking justice to the family of the Dalit sisters aged 11 and nine after a special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court in Palakkad acquitted the accused on October 25.
The victims were from Attapallam, near Walayar. They were found hanging in January and March of 2017 respectively. Post-mortem reports suggested that the girls were sexually assaulted.
Opposition parties have alleged that the police, under political pressure, helped the accused, who belonged to the ruling party, by weakening the prosecution case.
