Chennithala orders review of 23 child deaths in Palakkad between 2010 and 2023

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a review of 23 “suspicious deaths” of adolescents and minors in Palakkad during the 2010-2023 period. 

The Home Minister’s Office said the government has tasked Deputy Inspector General of Police, Thrissur Range, T Narayanan, who has jurisdiction over the Palakkad police district, with heading the review. 

A civic forum chaired by K. Salil Lal Ahmed, a public interest litigator, met Mr. Chennithala at his office on Tuesday. Officials said the forum had flagged the deaths, including those by suspected suicide, in several adjacent localities along the Palakkad-Tamil Nadu border.

The forum had earlier moved the high court, pleading for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on the ground that several of the “victims” bore signs of ante-mortem injuries and signs of sexual abuse. The High Court subsequently ordered a CBI enquiry and directed the Central agency to submit a preliminary report. 

Officials said local police and subsequently the Crime Branch had investigated several of the cases and found no signs of foul play. However, the civic forum told Mr Chennithala that local law enforcement closed several of the cases prematurely, and the activists said the families of the victims found the investigations wanting and patently unsatisfactory.

Mr Chennithala’s office said that the activists wanted the government to strike a supportive stance in the High Court. Officials said Mr Chennithala has called for a scheme to ensure better coordination among the local police, Child Welfare Committees, and parents’ and teachers’ associations, with timely action to detect adolescent runaways and to provide legal counselling to families.