PALAKKAD: Police on Tuesday arrested three persons who had been acquitted by the Palakkad POCSO court in the Walayar rape and murder case.

The accused, M Madhu, V Madhu and Pradeep Kumar were rearrested following an order issued by the Kerala High Court. They were produced before the POCSO court on Tuesday and later released on bail. However, the fourth accused Shibu did not appear before the court.

On Monday, the High Court had ordered the police to arrest the accused after considering the appeal filed by the state government against the lower court verdict acquitting the accused.

The two girls were found hanging on January 13, 2017. Though the accused were arrested immediately, they were released due to a lack of evidence.