India’s main opposition party Congress on Tuesday demanded an investigation by the country's central probe agency into the killing of two girls murdered in Kerala two years ago. The five accused were initially held but due to a lack of evidence were acquitted by a court.
In 2017, an 11-year-old girl's body was found by her nine-year-old sister in her house in Kerala. Two months later, the younger girl was also found dead at her home in similar circumstances.
Postmortem reports on both victims showed signs of sexual abuse. Their mother reportedly told police she witnessed one of the accused sexually abusing one of the girls.
Raising the issue during the second day of the Winter Session at Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, on Tuesday, Congress sought the intervention of the Union Home Minister Shah to order a CBI probe into the gruesome killings which had rocked Kerala. The state is led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M).
One Congress politician from Kerala has even alleged the accused were openly shielded by the CPI-M. The parliamentarian said the investigation into the matter had been manipulated by police in favour of the culprits who indulged in unnatural sex and torture, which finally culminated in the cold-blooded killing of the two little sisters.
The opposition sought a CBI investigation to ascertain the truth behind the murders.
Home Minister Shah was not present in the House when the issue was raised, while the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the matter was serious and the House would look into it.
Kerala police had arrested five persons, however, a lack of sufficient evidence and a weak prosecution enabled the accused to be acquitted by a court.
Mass protests were witnessed in the state, raising doubts over the credibility of the police investigation.
The victims' family had earlier alleged that the accused were close to the ruling CPI-M and were shielded by the police.