KANNUR: In yet another curious turn in the Kozhikode gold smuggling case, the car driver who caused the death of Ramees, a friend and close aide of prime accused and CPM sympathiser Arjun Ayanki, died of internal bleeding on Monday.
PV Ashwin (41) of Talap in Kannur district, died at AKG Hospital, Kannur. The hospital authorities ruled out any foul play in the death.
On July 23, Ramees (24) had met with an accident as the bike in which he was riding collided with the car driven by Ashwin at Kappakkadavu in Kozhikode. Though Ramees was taken to the hospital, his life could not be saved as he suffered severe injuries on his head and ribs.
Meanwhile, relatives said Ashwin was a habitual drunkard and he was admitted to the hospital earlier also due to internal bleeding. He was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening around 4 pm after he vomited blood. The hospital authorities confirmed his death at 8.10 am on Monday. Ashwin had given his statement to the police that he had no connection with either Arjun Ayanki and Ramees.
Ashwin was working in Australia and had returned to India only a few months back.
Earlier, police had said there was nothing suspicious in the accident that killed Ramees. They said Ashwin was taking one of his relatives to the hospital and an overspeeding Ramees, without wearing a helmet, rammed into the car. Both vehicles were going in the same direction, said the police, then. The fatal accident occurred when Ramees was to appear before the customs department for interrogation in connection with the gold smuggling case the next day -- on July 24. When the accident took place, he was riding the bike of Arjun Ayanki.
This particular gold smuggling case hit the headlines when five persons were killed in a road accident in Ramanattukara in Kozhikode district when a car, returning from Karipur (Kozhikode) airport, collided with a cement-laden lorry on June 21. The five deceased -- all passengers of the car -- were found to be linked to the gold smuggling gangs operating in the area.