Kochi: The family of the victim in the Cheranalloor Mercedes-Benz crash has been accused in court of creating obstacles in the investigation, even as the police included Section 238 of the BNS related to destruction of evidence.

While the prosecution alleged that the family of the victim, Jayabalakrishnan, was creating obstacles to an independent investigation, the family also raised counter charges. Additional Sessions Judge Kavitha Gangadharan, who heard the arguments behind closed doors, posted the case for November 5 to pronounce the verdict on an appeal.

The advocate representing Jayabalakrishnan’s family later said the differences with the prosecutions were sorted out. The family and the prosecution had raised allegations against each other on Monday while the court was considering an appeal filed by the prosecution seeking cancellation of the bail granted to the 17-year-old boy involved in the case.

Bhadrakeerthy, Jayabalakrishnan’s daughter, had earlier shared with the media her concerns over the delay in the procedures related to the case. The prosecution alleged before the court that the contradictory statements given by the victim’s family to the media were affecting the investigation. However, the family’s lawyer told the court that no hurdles were being created for the probe.

Observing that the allegation of the prosecution was of a grave nature, the court sought an explanation on the matter from the investigating officer. When the family’s lawyer said that certain details could not be mentioned in the open court, the judge shifted the arguments in the case to a closed room. The court said that the decision to move the hearings on the appeal behind closed doors was taken also considering the fact that the accused in the case was a minor.

A major allegation of the family’s advocate was that they were finding it difficult to obtain documents related to the case from the prosecution. Meanwhile, the Cyber Police informed the court that measures were taken to remove the photos and details of the 17-year-old boy involved in the case from social media.

In a related development, Kochi City Police Commissioner R Nishanthini visited the Cheranalloor police station and evaluated the progress of the investigation. She also met Jayabalakrishnan’s family.