The Kerala High Court has requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to present its findings on 23 cases concerning the suspected unnatural deaths of children in Palakkad district between 2010 and 2023. The court has instructed the agency to submit a comprehensive report within one month.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar, noted that any clarifications or additional information required by the CBI could be obtained from the Palakkad district police chief. The court also allowed the agency to seek any necessary supplementary details from the state police to facilitate the filing of its report. The matter has been adjourned to August 6.
The directive came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by K Salil Lal Ahamed and four other members of the Walayar Neethi Samara Samithy. This civic forum was established to seek justice for two minor Dalit girls from Walayar who were allegedly sexually assaulted and later found dead in 2017. The petitioners raised serious concerns about the unnatural deaths of children in Palakkad district, citing findings from the investigation into the Walayar girls' deaths. They argued that pathological autopsy reports and other evidence suggested that several child deaths were either homicidal or highly suspicious, even though the cases were initially closed as suicides.
Previous Court Directions
During a prior hearing in February 2026, the High Court had directed the CBI to update it on three specific cases: two registered at the Walayar police station concerning the deaths of the Dalit girls, and one registered at the Kasaba police station relating to the 2011 deaths of Saseendran, former company secretary of Malabar Cements Ltd, and his two sons, aged 11 and 8. The court also instructed the crime branch investigation team to file a report on a case registered at the Kollengode police station regarding the death of an 11-year-old girl in 2010.
On Thursday, when the matter was considered, the High Court observed that the CBI had not yet submitted any report. Consequently, it directed the agency to examine the records of the alleged deaths of 23 children and file a report.
CBI to Investigate Kollengode Case
While reviewing the crime branch's status report on the investigation into the Kollengode police station case from 2010, involving the death of an 11-year-old girl, the High Court noted several irregularities in the investigation. As a result, the court ordered that the case be transferred to the CBI for further investigation.
The allegations stated that despite clear indications of sexual assault, the police concluded that the Kollengode girl had died by suicide by hanging, without adequately investigating the possibility of sexual assault. It was further alleged that the hanging was likely a case of homicide.
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