KOCHI: The Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Monday gave a week’s time to the relatives of Rahul, a seven- year-old boy who went missing from Alappuzha in 2009, for filing an objection against closure of the case. The CBI, which is investigating the case, had filed the closure report of the case for the fourth time in March this year.
According to sources, the relatives of Rahul were present at the Chief Judicial Magistrate court when the case was posted on Monday. They gave an oral submission against the decision of the CBI to close the case. Following this, the court gave time for the relatives to file a report objecting the closure of the case before June 17. Since the CBI prosecutor was not present during the hearing of the case, the court could not hear the contention of the prosecution.
Rahul, the seven-year-old son of Raju, of Rahul Niwas, Ashramam Ward, Alappuzha, went missing on May 18, 2005, when he was playing cricket with his friends near his house. He was wearing a one-sovereign gold chain, shorts and a check shirt.
After preliminary inquiry conducted by the local police, the probe was taken over by the Crime Branch. The CB probe centred around the suspected involvement of Rahul’s neighbour Rojo George. Though Rojo underwent a polygraph test, no leads emerged. Following a High Court order, the CBI took over the inquiry on June 14, 2005. Both the state government and the CBI had announced a reward of `50,000 for those providing any information which could help trace the boy.
Eventually, the CBI approached the Ernakulam CJM Court in 2009, 2012 and 2013, seeking permission to wind up the investigation, but the court had rejected the petition.