Trial begins in Latvian tourist's gruesome murder in Kovalam. Sister first to depose in court

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Liga Skromane

The trial in the murder of Latvian tourist, Liga Skromane, started at the Principal Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram, on Wednesday.

The trial begins more than four years after Liga's body was found inside an obscure mangrove forest at Thiruvallam, near Kovalam. The body was found hanging from a tree, the feet touching the ground. It was in such a decomposed state that her head had virtually severed from her body. It was beyond recognition. The remains were found nearly one-and-a-half months after she went missing from her Ayurveda retreat at Pothencode, near Thiruvananthapuram, on May 14, 2018.

The prosecution case is that the accused - Udayan (27) and Umesh (31) - had lured Liga to the mangrove forest, drugged her and then sexually assaulted her. When, even in her dazed state, she resisted, the two men strangled her to death, and hung her from a tree in the mangrove forest. Post-mortem conducted on her body revealed blood clots in her brain, hinting at the possibility of strangulation. Liga's undergarments were also missing, a clear sign that she was undressed and raped. It was after nearly two months of the probe that the police team finally reached the mangrove forest. One of the accused is a tourist guide and the other, a local drug peddler.

Ilze Skromane, Liga's younger sister who identified Liga's decomposed body, was the first person to take to the witness stand on Wednesday. Besides Ilze, there are 103 other witnesses in the case. The trial will extend till June 21.

Ilze told the court that she and her sister came to Kerala for a long-haul Ayurveda treatment on February 3, 2018. She said that Liga had successfully undergone treatment for depression in Ireland. She said the doctor then instructed Liga to submit herself to comprehensive Ayurveda therapy, for even better results.

Ilze said Liga went missing on March 14, more than a month after the treatment began. Early morning that day, the sisters were supposed to attend a yoga class in the hospital. But Liga said she had a headache and asked Ilza to go alone. When she returned, her elder sister was not to be seen. They searched for Liga in all the places she could possibly visit but there was no trace of her.

Liga and sister Ilza Skromane
Liga and sister Ilza Skromane

It was an auto driver, when shown a picture of Liga, who said that he had driven her to Kovalam. But Ilze's search in Kovalam, too, did not yield any result. She then went around putting up posters of her missing sister all over Kerala, asking people to share any possible leads. When the police mailed her some pictures of the body, Ilze was in North Kerala, putting up posters and trying to find some trace of her missing sister. "I could recognise my sister from the picture, especially her brown hair and the printed ornament in front of her toga top," Ilze said. She immediately took a night train back to Thiruvananthapuram and was quickly taken by the police to the mangrove forest to identify the body. She confirmed that it was her sister.

Her first day in the witness box of a foreign court, when she was peppered with probing questions for nearly an hour by the defence counsel, seems not to have shaken Ilze. “I felt peaceful because I know that what I am saying is true, and that my sole aim is to get justice for my sister and my family,” Ilze told Onmanorama. “I have been waiting for this day,” she said.

Nonetheless, she is slightly worried about the other 103 witnesses. Recently, the police arrested the relative of one of the accused for threatening a witness. “I am worried about the safety of the witnesses but I strongly believe that they will testify what they know to be true,” she said. Even then Ilze is not free of doubts. “These witnesses, too, live in the same area as these criminals (the accused) and their friends,” she said, hinting that there was every chance that the witnesses could be intimidated and forced to turn hostile.

On the other hand, she is fully satisfied with the police investigation and their findings. “I have always stated this,” Ilze said.

In 2019, Liga's partner Andrew Jordan had questioned the police probe and said that there were more people involved than the two accused. He had even called for a CBI probe into Liga's murder. But Ilze is dismissive of Andrew. “My family and I have never wanted Andrew's involvement in my sister's case. Neither do we know him well nor do we understand the motives behind his actions,” Ilze said. Ilze had moved to Ireland from her native Latvia, a Baltic nation, when she was 19. She now runs a beauty parlour in Ireland. The other members of her family are in Latvia. Her father is a retired mechanical engineer and her mother is a florist.

Liga Skromane
Liga Skromane

She does not subscribe to Andrew's allegation that more than two people were involved. "When I saw the place where my sister's body was found (the mangrove forest), it was clear that it was the hang-out of these two accused. Nobody else could have any idea that such a place even existed," she said.

Ilze was also unable to stand earlier rumours that her sister was a junkie. "She had never used drugs. Liga might have been drawn by these criminals by their promise to show some beautiful places near Kovalam. (Ilza had told the Court on Wednesday that Liga was a nature lover.) But she smoked cigarettes and drugs could have been stealthily added to her cigarettes," Ilze said.

She will be in Thiruvananthapuram till the trial is over.

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