Kochi: The state government filed an appeal in the High Court on Wednesday seeking to continue the investigation and retrial in the Walayar rape and suicide case.
The government admitted that there were grave lapses in the investigation and prosecution of the case in which two minor siblings were found dead in their house at Walayar in 2017.
The failure of the investigation in the death of the elder girl led to the suicide of the younger one.
The government submitted that a probe was being held into the lapses while action had been taken against the prosecutor.
The appeal said the authorities had failed to provide counselling to the younger girl after the death of her sister.
Although the police surgeon had mentioned about the possibilities of sexual assault on the elder girl, no proper investigation was conducted.
The suspicions about the murder of the second girl were not investigated properly despite forensic experts hinting at it. The prosecution failed to consult the probe officials before submitting the final chargesheet or its preparation.
It also did not use the statements made by key witnesses and recorded by the magistrate under section 164 during the trial.
