A grieving and wronged mother’s decision to contest elections in Kerala has landed the media in an unusual dilemma — how to strike a balance between concealing her identity and reporting on her with the intensity that a poll in India demands, while at the same time drawing attention to her story of pain.

The mother of two minor girls who committed suicide after being raped by multiple men has decided to contest against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the upcoming Assembly elections, accusing him and his government of presiding over a botched-up investigation.

The media has tied itself in knots on whether to identify her, which would run counter to the law that prohibits the disclosure of any information that would reveal the identity of a victim of sexual abuse who is a minor. If the woman is not identified, then it would mean not drawing attention to her unusual story of grief and helplessness that drove her to challenge the might of the chief minister in the electoral ring.

Malayalam television channels have for now been showing blurred visuals of the woman without naming her. She is being referred to as the “mother of the Walayar sisters”.

The Telegraph is not publishing the name of the woman, accepting legal opinion against taking editorial decisions that would reveal the identity of her daughters.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, prohibits the disclosure of any information that could lead to identification of victims who are minors.

The woman, who will take CPM veteran Vijayan on as an Independent from the Dharmadom Assembly constituency in Kannur district, told this newspaper that she had no problem in being identified or photographed.

“I am not a murderer that I would walk around with my face covered. I haven’t cheated anyone that I would have to conceal my identity,” she said over phone from Palakkad where she was busy collecting necessary documents to file her nomination.

The Dalit woman alleged that the state government’s laxity in nailing the culprits and punishing erring police officers who botched up the probe had compelled her to take the decision. The police administration reports to Vijayan who is also the home minister.

Her daughters — aged 13 and 9 — were found dead 52 days apart in January and March 2017 at their shanty in the industrial town of Walayar. The children died by hanging, unable to bear the torment of multiple men — known to the family — including a minor, raping them over a period of time. Forensic reports had shown that they had also been subjected to unnatural sex. As the parents are daily wage earners, they had to go out for work frequently, leaving their daughters alone at home.

To the horror of an entire state, two years later a special court acquitted the four accused for want of evidence. It led to a massive outpouring of anger in Kerala.

The state government in January handed over the case related to the deaths of the siblings to the CBI after Kerala High Court ordered a retrial, observing there had been a “miscarriage of justice” due to “serious lapses” in the investigation. The court also set aside the acquittal of the accused.

The aggrieved mother last week tonsured her head in protest against the “denial of justice”.

“I am engaged in a fight seeking justice for my daughters. So I want people to know what I am fighting for,” she said.

The woman had recently said she had “cried and begged” before the chief minister to ensure the culprits were brought to book.

The woman said that in her electoral bid she was open to support from any political force other than the Sangh parivar.

While the fourth accused in the case of brutality against the girls, Pradeep Kumar, died by suicide in November 2020, Valiya Madhu and Shibhu have been re-arrested and sent to judicial custody following the reopening of the case. Another accused, Cheriya Madhu, obtained an anticipatory bail after the high court ordered a retrial. The juvenile has not been re-arrested considering his age.

Senior lawyer P.V. Surendranath, who practises in the Supreme Court, told this newspaper that the provisions of the Pocso Act would not be violated if the woman was identified without connecting her to the children. “You cannot say she is the mother of the two girls (victims). Otherwise the law does not hinder the publication of the mother’s identity, especially because she is said to be contesting an election.”

Advocate K.R. Subhash Chandran, who too handles Pocso cases, said Section 23 (2) of the act clearly states that no information can be published if it leads to revealing the identity of the victim.

“No reports in any media shall disclose the identity of a child, including his name, address, photograph, family details, school, neighbourhood or any other particulars which may lead to disclosure of the identity of the child,” states Section 23 (2) of the act.

But the law makes an exception in instances allowed by a competent court when “such disclosure is in the interest of the child”.

“This is a unique situation where the mother is going to contest an election, which means her identity has to be revealed. Perhaps this kind of a scenario did not come up while drafting the law,” Chandran said.

Social activist C.R. Neelakantan, who is assisting the woman, said publicity materials would certainly carry her name and picture. “How can anyone contest an election without telling the voters who you are? Even the ballot papers will have her picture. So there is absolutely no restriction in disclosing her name,” he said.