KOCHI: With the surprise entry of the Navy into the scene, the search operation for the most vital evidence in the actor molestation case - the mobile phone used to record the sexual assault -gathered steam on Tuesday. However, the five-member diving team surfaced empty handed after a search that lasted more than six hours.
“We couldn’t find anything during the search,” Vishal Johnson, Aluva Circle Inspector, told ‘Express’, disappointment writ large on his face. He declined to comment when asked if the search operation would continue on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seized a SIM and memory card from the house of Manu, Kakkazham, Ambalappuzha, a friend of prime accused Pulsar Suni.
The Navy’s diving team used advance search equipment to scout the waters below the first Goshree bridge. The search was conducted on the basis of Suni’s deposition. He told the team he hurled the phone into the backwaters near the first Goshree bridge on his way to surrender at the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court last Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the police team brought Vijeesh and Suni to the bridge to identify the location. The accused showed the probe team the ‘exact spot’ from where Suni threw the phone. SIT member DySP K G Babu Kumar said though Suni had made conflicting statements regarding the location before, they “found some substance in his claim this time”.
“This prompted us to seek the help of the Navy,” he said. Earlier, Suni had said he dumped the mobile phone in a canal at Ponnurunni, following which, the police conducted a search in vain.
Suni deposed he reached at Goshree bridge around 8 am and tossed the mobile phone wrapped in a plastic bag. It reveals Suni reached Ernakulam town four hours before he surrendered. “Suni is suspected to have met his lawyers after disposing of the phone,” a senior officer told ‘Express’.