KOCHI: After Fire and Rescue Services personnel, the divers of Indian Coast Guard carried out underwater search in Vembanad Lake near the Kanamkattu bridge on Tuesday for the missing hard disk containing CCTV footage of No 18 Hotel, as part of the probe into the death of three including Miss South India Ansi Kabeer and former Miss Kerala first runner-up Anjana Shajan on November 1.
Following the accident, the hard disk was dumped in the lake as directed by hotel owner Roy J Vayalat. The search using sonar equipment is likely to continue on Wednesday. Kochi City Police Commissioner H Nagaraju told reporters that the missing of digital video recorder (DVR) is suspicious. “We came to know about the destruction of DVR lately. No doubt that such an action raises suspicions. It’s common sense. Once the hard disk is traced, all doubts can be cleared,” he said.
“The search is being carried with available data regarding tide and water drift maintained by the Cost Guard. We’re hopeful of tracing the disk,” he said. Asked about Saiju Thankachan, who chased the car of the deceased in an SUV, the commissioner said he was questioned once but was not available for further rounds of interrogation.
“Just because someone is absconding doesn’t mean that he is a suspect and persons who are not absconding are not suspects in the case,” he said.
SUV driver not made accused yet, HC told
Kochi: The government on Tuesday informed the Kerala High Court that Syju M Thankachan, the driver of the SUV that allegedly chased the car of the two models, has not been made an accused so far in the models’ death case. “If any incriminating evidence is unearthed against him, he will have to be made an accused,” the government submitted when Saiju’s anticipatory bail plea came up for hearing.