Court orders further probe into Kaviyoor mass suicide

TRIVANDRUM - The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Kerala on Monday ordered a further probe into the Kaviyoor mass suicide case.

The court has directed the CBI to examine the allegation that the major factor behind the death of 40-year-old temple priest, his wife and three children was the sexual exploitation of his daughter Anakha. The five were found dead in their house at Kaviyoor near Tiruvalla on September 28, 2004.

The order was passed on a petition filed by Crime magazine editor T P Nandakumar saying that the CBI had scuttled the investigation under the influence of higher-ups involved in the case. The petitioner alleged that those who had raped the 14-year-old girl included the sons of former ministers M.A Baby and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and the Kottayam district superintendent of police.

The names of these persons were mentioned in a letter written by Sreekumari, a friend of Ankha to former high court judge B.S Basanth. The judge had handed over the letter to a senior police officer. The court had earlier criticised the investigating team for its failure to investigate the charges leveled in the letter and autopsy report which indicated traces of semen in her body.