Kochi: The newly appointed Crime Branch police probe team is determined to unravel the mystery behind the car crash that took place November 1, here that killed two former beauty pageant winners.
One reason why the police team is peeved is the manner in which the owner of the hotel where the DJ party was held prior to the car crash and his five staff members after being arrested got bail in a matter of 24 hours for want of any evidence against them.
Even though the police have got the statement from the staff that the crucial evidence of the CCTV hard disk of events till the ladies left the DJ party has been destroyed and they have admitted it was thrown into the nearby backwaters.
But a determined police according to sources in the know of things, have decided to do everything they can by trying to recover the disk and is speaking to underwater diving experts.
What’s even more important is that in the remand report, the police expressed doubts whether drugs played a role in the incident. The angle of blackmailing also needed to be probed, it said.
Vayalatin was arrested after he told the police that the CCTV hard disk which contained the visuals of the party has been destroyed, but he managed to get bail in a matter of 24 hours.
Meanwhile fresh media reports have also surfaced about the alleged role played by a top police official who ever since the incident occurred has been using his clout to keep Vayalatin out of the police probe.
While Ancy Kabeer, 25, and Anjana Shajan, 24, had died instantly in the crash, a third person — Ashiq, succumbed to his injuries a few days later, leaving Abdul Rahman, who drove the car, the only witness.
Rahman is presently out of hospital but the police have arrested him under charges of ‘involuntary manslaughter’.
Though the probe team recovered the hard disk of the CCTV footage at the hotel, it failed to get any visuals of the party, raising suspicion of a foul play.
After several days of probe, the police team learnt that there was an altercation during the party. Before things could take an ugly turn, the youngsters had left the hotel.
According to sources, Rahman was driving under the influence of alcohol.
It was on their way back that the car, after hitting a two-wheeler, lost control and turned turtle.
However, police found that there was a vehicle following the car carrying the two women. During interrogation, the driver said that the victims’ car was being driven at an extremely high speed.
As per reports, Shaiju, the driver of the car which followed the other car, had called up and informed the hotel owner about the accident and he has also moved an anticipatory bail plea.
IANS