Kochi: Even four days after dental student P V Manasa was shot dead at Kothamangalam in Ernakulam, there is little clarity over the pistol used to commit the murder as the Kerala Police is reportedly yet to find ballistic experts.
Kannur native Rakhil had shot dead Manasa, a house surgeon at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences at Nellikuzhi in Kothamangalam, on Friday afternoon. Even when a five-member police team left for Bihar on Monday evening to find the source of the pistol, the police have only received a preliminary examination report on the pistol.
Testimony of ballistics expert crucial
The testimony of the ballistics expert is crucial in cases that proceed to trial. Instances of guns being submitted as mainour in murder cases registered by the police are much less in Kerala compared to the north Indian states.
As it is suspected that alterations were made to the pistol used to kill Manasa, the examination of the murder weapon by those without technical expertise would hamper the investigation. There have been instances when flaws in the statements of ballistics experts proved to be a setback for the prosecution during trial. Over 200 technical components would have to be examined in the pistol. The ballistic experts will have to give precise answers to the defence attorneys' questions on each of these parts, the alterations made and the resulting effects.
As Rakhil had killed himself after murdering Manasa, the probe into the pistol will require more of a scientific investigation.
