KOCHI: The witness examination in the Nedumbassery human trafficking case is nearing completion at the CBI Court here. So far, the court has examined 68 witnesses in the case.According to CBI officers, there are 92 witnesses in the case, and this is the third phase of the witness examination. As many as 50 witnesses were examined in the first and second phases. “The trial is progressing as per the schedule prepared by the court. We expect the witness examination will be completed within a month,” a CBI officer said.
The trial in the case had begun early this year and it is being held in-camera at the CBI-I Court, Kochi. The accused persons facing trial are Suresh K V, Lissy Sojan, Sethu Lal, Anil Kumar, Bindhu, Santha, Maneesh A P, Sudharman, Varghese Raphael, Kabeer P K, Siraj, P A Rafeeq, S Mustafa and Thahir.
The case pertains to the alleged trafficking of women to brothels in Muscat, Sharjah and Dubai by the accused. The incident came to light when a Kazhakootam native arrived in Mumbai after escaping from the clutches of sex racketeers in Sharjah in 2013.
Authorities in Mumbai handed over the victim to the police at Nedumbassery, who initiated the probe.
The case, initially probed by the Crime Branch, was later handed over to the CBI. Five cases have been registered in connection with the human trafficking incident, in which some police officers are also involved.