KOCHI: In a bizarre twist in the probe into the death of the Chakkaraparambu car crash victims, CCTV footage of the party held at a Fort Kochi hotel and attended by the deceased has gone missing. The police who searched the hotel on Wednesday could not find the hard disk containing visuals from the CCTV camera at the hall where the party was held on the night of October 31.
The deceased trio — Miss South India Ansi Kabeer, Miss Kerala 2019 first runner-up Anjana Shajan and co-passenger Mohammad Ashiq — had met with the accident in the wee hours of November 1 while returning from the party. Mala native Abdul Rehman, who drove the car, was later arrested for drink driving.
Suspecting foul play when the hotel did not hand over all the CCTV footage despite several requests, the police on Tuesday went there and collected the hard disks containing all CCTV visuals. However, a scrutiny revealed that the footage from CCTV cameras inside the party hall was missing. The police went to the hotel again on Wednesday and searched the entire premises.
“The hard disk containing visuals from the party hall could not be found. We searched the hotel owner’s house in Edakochi and seized his computers for analysis,” said a police officer. CCTV footage of the verandah leading to the party hall showed the victims entering the hall around 7.30pm.
The police said an Excise squad had raided the hotel on October 23 and issued a notice to the management for violating norms related to serving liquor till late at night. On November 2, the establishment’s bar licence was cancelled.
“It is possible that after last month’s excise inspection, the CCTV cameras at the party hall were disconnected. We will question the hotel owner again,” said a police official. The owner was previously questioned on Monday.
Meanwhile, police have strengthened vehicle inspections in the city at night to nab people driving under the influence of alcohol. Also, police control room squads have been deployed at highways where incidents of speeding are frequent.
“Inspection of vehicles at night has been intensified across the city in the past two days. Since use of breath analysers is not allowed now due to Covid, anyone suspected of drink-driving will be taken to the hospital for a blood test. Appropriate action will be taken based on the result,” said ACP K P Philip, who is in charge of Kochi city police. He said police control rooms and police stations have been directed to intensify inspections at night.
