KOCHI: Expressing concern over the shoddy probe in the Munambam human trafficking case, the Kerala High Court on Friday observed the probe conducted by the state police was pathetic and shabby.When the bail plea of two accused - Ravi of South Delhi and Anil Kumar of Venganoor- came up for hearing, Justice B Sudheendra Kumar observed that prima facie there was material to show the case was of 'human trafficking'.
Though the Special Investigation Team maintained there was no material to invoke offence under Section 370 (human trafficking) of the IPC, the court differed. "It's clear the accused person collected money from the victim and the relatives were not permitted to keep the mobile numbers of the person, who left from Munambam. What prevented the police from invoking Section 370?" the court asked.
The police have found that majority of the people who left in the boat were from Madangir, New Delhi and were Tamil settlers. Some of them were born in Sri Lanka. The court orally observed the human trafficking case is a mysterious one as it can be for harvesting human organs, waging war against the nation, or for using them to gather official secrets of the country. As the security of the nation is at stake, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all aspects.
The countries involved will not take the case seriously, if sections related to human trafficking is not invoked, HC said. The police said there are 87 people on board the fishing boat. It has not yet been revealed whether they were subjected to any sort of coercion, exploitation and fraud.