Bittihotra Mohanty, who had been living a false life in Kerala’s Kannur district as Raghav Rajan, was on Wednesday taken to the bank where he had worked and the college he had studied under the fake name after he jumped parole while undergoing a seven-year jail sentence in a Rajasthan jail in 2006.
Before producing before the Judicial First Class Magistrate at Payyannur in the afternoon, Bitti was taken to the Chinmaya Mission Institute of Technology (Chintech) at Chala, here, where he had done his MBA during 2009-11. Institute Principal K.K. Falgunan identified Bitti.
The police took him for identification to the State Bank of Travancore branch at Pazhayangadi, here, where he had been working as probationary officer since June 2012.
He was produced before the magistrate as his 10-day police custody is to end on March 21. The magistrate remanded him in judicial custody till April 3. The plea of the special team investigating the case (of impersonation, forgery, and cheating) to extend the police custody for 10 more days would be taken up by the court on March 21.
Meanwhile, the police submitted an application to the magistrate seeking permission for a DNA test to conclusively confirm his identity. This, however, would require the consent of Bitti and his parents. A police team, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police K.S. Sudarshan, has secured necessary information to confirm the identity of Bitti. The team’s visit to Rajasthan, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh as part of the investigation has helped the police to prove his identity. The DNA test would only strengthen the confirmation, the police said.
Though the validity of the production warrant submitted by the Rajasthan police at the special sub-jail here will expire on March 21, the district police have no information from their Rajasthan counterparts on any possible submission of a fresh production warrant seeking his custody.
