Kochi: More shocking revelations related to the death of three persons, including former Miss Kerala Ansy Kabeer and runner-up Anjana Shajan, in a car crash here continue to tumble out. The latest is an anonymous message received by the police saying that the upcoming models were given soft drink laced with drugs at a DJ party they attended in a fancy hotel in Fort Kochi before their fatal car journey on November 1.
However, little progress is likely in this direction as investigators had failed to collect blood samples of the deceased models. Moreover, to confirm the message, which alleged that the models were tricked into taking drugs, the police need to recover the missing CCTV visuals from the ‘No 18’ hotel, where the party took place.
Ansy, Roy knew each other
Another fact that the police learnt recently is that Ansy and the owner of Number 18 hotel Roy Vayalat were known to each other for years. The police said that Roy and Ansy’s mother had studied at the same college in Kochi and were members of an alumni group. It was this acquaintance with Roy that took Ancy and friends to the DJ party at Roy’s hotel.
Saiju’s presence
According to the police, among those who were present at the DJ party attended by the models was Saiju Thankachan, who organised drugs parties at the hotel. “His intervention proved deadly for the models,” says the remand report filed by the police.
According to the report, Saiju invited Ancy and Anjana to the discreet drugs party held after the DJ party. However, they refused to attend the drugs party. Subsequently, Muhammed Ashik and Abdul Rahman, who were accompanying the two models, were deliberately served liquor in excess amounts, says the police report. The two models too were given soft drink spiked with drugs, according to the latest anonymous message.
Setback for police
Meanwhile, the bail granted to Roy and his staff within 24 hours of their arrest is a big blow to the police investigation. According to an officer, the police had lost an opportunity to take custody of the hotel owner and his staff and recover the CCTV visuals from the hotel which are now missing. Incidentally, according to legal experts, the court normally does not grant bail to the accused whose custody is sought by the police.
Legal angle
Even though the hotel owners and others were arrested under the IPC sections dealing with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, they have been charged with IPC 109, which covers instigation, also. This is considering the chances of more evidence coming out. Experts also point out that in culpable homicide cases, instigation and conspiracy angles would not stand legal scrutiny together.
Hard disc recovery
The police had informed the court that the hard disc containing the CCTV visuals of the DJ party were thrown by the accused into the backwaters. Three days’ custody of the accused was needed to recover the hard disc, said the police. However, Roy and his staff were granted bail, said the police.
Legal experts feel this would be a setback for the prosecution also during trial.
Bail order unavailable
Yet another curious development related to the case is that court officials told reporters that they had been instructed not to hand over copies of the order granting bail to Roy and his staff, to the media. Experts said that this would prevent the public from learning the legal basis on which the bail was allowed.
