KOCHI: A desolate father and mother will hold a hunger strike on Tuesday in front of St George Orthodox Church Karmelkunnu at Mulakkulam near Piravom, where her daughter was laid to rest. The strike on the International Women’s Day is part of a long battle Shaji Vargheese and Saliamma Shaji has been waging to unravel the mystery behind the death of Mishel. On March 6, 2017, the 19-year-old CA student’s body was found floating in the Kochi backwaters. Five years on, the state crime branch has not made any headway in investigation. The family is seeking CBI inquiry.
“Crime branch hasn’t submitted the final report yet. My appeal before the High Court seeking CBI inquiry would be granted only if it is filed,” said Shaji. According to reports, Mishel left her hostel at Kacheripady in the evening on March 5, but didn’t return. Her body was found near the wharf the following day. Though the local police arrested a youth, Cronin Alexander Baby, on charges of abetment of suicide, Mishel’s family allege it was a murder and that more persons were involved in it.
“The investigating officials are trying to write it off as a suicide, though they don’t have any concrete evidence to do so. We suspect they are purportedly delaying the filing of the final report as they know that evidence would vanish naturally,” said Shaji. When we met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in February 2020, he assured us that the final report would be filed within two months. But no action has been taken even after two years. Apart from Justice for Mishel Action Council, which was constituted by the relatives of the deceased and local residents, MLA Anoop Jacob and the Orthodox Syrian Church have also taken up the issue.
The Church demanded a CBI probe on Sunday. Baselios Marthoma Mathews III expressed displeasure at the delay in filing the final probe report. Mishel’s family members say they have reasons to believe that she was murdered. Marks of assault were evident on Mishel’s body when it was recovered, but no mention of them was made in the postmortem examination report.
The police say that as per the statement given by friend Devapriya, Mishel had left the hostel without any belongings, but CCTV footage showed she carried a handbag. Justice for Mishel Action Council alleged that the police ignored the dark blue scars on either side of her nose and arms. They have not identified the two men who had allegedly followed her on a motorcycle from St Antony’s Church at Kaloor though CCTV footage confirm their presence.