KOCHI: The police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against No 18 hotel owner Roy J Vayalat and his friend Shaiju Thankachan who were arrested following the death of two models in a road accident last year. According to the police, the case has been registered at Fort Kochi police station after a complaint was lodged by a Kozhikode native last week.
A police officer said the case has been registered against Roy, Shaiju and a woman named Anjali. “We received a complaint claiming that Roy molested the woman and her minor daughter at the hotel in October last year. The incident occurred days before the car accident that claimed the lives of three persons, including two models. Shaiju and Anjali were with Roy when the incident occurred. Later, the woman was threatened against lodging a police complaint claiming that he had secret videos of the victims and these would be leaked on social media platforms,” an official said.
The police would record the statements of Roy and the other two persons before deciding to record their arrest. The police would record a fresh statement of victims. “Currently, we are looking to assign the case to Circle Inspector A Ananthalal who investigated the car accident case. After the preliminary investigation, we would decide on arresting the three,” an officer said.
Though Roy was arrested by the police in the car accident case, he was released on bail when produced before the magistrate. However, Shaiju had been behind the bars for over a month after the police registered seven narcotic cases against him.
On November 1, the car carrying Miss South India Ansi Kabeer, Miss Kerala 2019 first runner-up Anjana Shajan and Thrissur native Mohammad Ashiq and driven by Mala native Abdul Rehman hit a bike and crashed into a tree on the side of the NH stretch at Chakkaraparambu. Ansi and Anjana died on the spot, while Ashiq succumbed to injuries at a private hospital in Kochi.
Rehman was arrested after he was discharged from the hospital. The police found that the deceased persons attended a party at Roy’s hotel in Fort Kochi and Shaiju chased the car that led to the accident. Roy was arrested after he allegedly destroyed the CCTV footage of the hotel.