Thiruvananthapuram city police, who are in pursuit of Sukanth Suresh, an accused in the case related to the suicide of a 25-year-old IB official, have broadened the search to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The police have formed separate teams and conducted searches in some locations across two states. Sukanth reportedly went into hiding along with his parents, who stayed at Edappal.

"We are not sure if he is on the run with his parents. We acted on tips and sent teams to two states outside Kerala, but the search didn't yield any information about his whereabouts. Earlie,r two teams conducted searches in northern districts," a senior official associated with the probe said.

The reclusive nature of the family has been a major impediment to the police in gathering information. Sukanth's parents, Suresh and Geetha, are not known to keep close contact with their relatives. Some of the close relatives including Suresh's brothers stay near their residence at Edappal Chungam ward, however Sukanth's family remained aloof from them.

While the initial probe centred around the close relatives of his family, police couldn't get any information from them. "We have collected the statements of the relatives. We also tried to find out if there were any antecedents," an official said.

The cops have already seized his gadgets: a mobile phone and an iPad from the rented residence in Kochi. The cops had come to know that before leaving, Suresh entrusted a key to his neighbour, who sourced water from the overhead tank. The police used this key to open the kitchen door and seize two passbooks and a hard disk from Sukanth's residence.

The doors inside the houses were locked, but keys were kept nearby. Sukanth's bedroom was upstairs and cops found it locked. They broke open the door and documents were found inside a steel almarah.

The hard disk and bank passbooks were kept inside a bag in the almarah. The cops had to break open the almarah to seize the hard disk. It is not known exactly when the family left Edappal. A member of the search team said that the house looked like they left in a hurry.

Pettah police have slapped Sukanth with charges of rape, cheating and abetment of suicide. Parents of the woman have filed complaints with the police against Sukanth saying that he extorted money from her.