Nothing to prove Kevin was killed: Defence counsel

Kottayam: As the trial in the sensational Kevin murder case progresses, the defence lawyers countered that the prosecution has been able to only prove that Kevin was abducted. There is no proof to show that Kevin was murdered, they argued.

There are not enough details in the charge sheet submitted by the investigating officer to prove the charges of murder in the Kevin case, the defence counsel stated during the proceedings of the case.

The defence lawyers cross-examined DySP Girish P Sarathy, the chief investigating officer in the Kevin murder case.

Kevin P Joseph was abducted by a gang of criminals from his house in Kottayam allegedly on the instructions of his fiancée Neenu’s family on May 27, 2018. His body was found in a river in Kollam the next day. Though Kevin’s cousin Anish Sebastian was also kidnapped, he escaped unharmed.

Kevin was abducted and taken away in one car, while his cousin was dumped into another during the wee hours of May 27. From 2am to 6pm, the accused were frequently calling each other, Sarathy said.

Second accused Niyasmon, fourth accused Riyas, 10th accused Vishnu, 11th accused Fazil Sherif, 12th accused Shanu Shahjahan and 13th accused Shinu Nazar were in the car with Kevin. Sixth accused Manu Muraleedharan, seventh accused Shefin, eighth accused N Nishad, ninth accused Tittu Jerome and 14th accused Remis were in the car with Anish.

Prime accused Sanu Chacko, who is Neenu’s brother, was following them in another car. He and those in the car with Anish contacted 18 times over the phone.

Twelfth accused Shanu Shajahan also contacted Neenu's father and fifth accused Chacko John, the DySP said in court.

Documents show that first accused Sanu Chacko, who is Neenu's brother, had called the Gandhinagar police station ASI in the morning on May 27, 2018. According to the phone call, Kevin had escaped from his abductors. However, the investigating officer replied that Kevin did not escape from the abductors but was killed.

The day before the abduction, second accused Niyas Mon had called Kevin to check the whereabouts of Neenu. Kevin told him that Neenu was along with him but won't give her the phone. This led to the accused believing that Neenu was held in unlawful detention, argued the defence side.

The witness number 11 had said in his statement that the accused had called him at 5.45 am on May 27 to say that they will free Anish, who was also kidnapped along with Kevin, only if Neenu was returned. This message had been passed on to the Gandhinagar ASI, said the DySP quoting a witness statement.

He also added that the WhatsApp messages exchanged between Kevin and Neenu were not collected since they were not important in the investigation.

Vodafone nodal officer Shahin Komath handed over the documents containing the phone details. Phone calls made during a journey won't be registered by all the towers but it can only ascertained whether it was under the range of a certain a tower when the call began and ended, he said.