More than a fortnight after the tragic accident that killed three persons, including two promising models instantaneously, at Chakkaraparambu, the city police on Wednesday arrested six persons, including the owner of the Fort Kochi-based hotel where the victims had reportedly partied late into the night just hours before speeding to their deaths.
Roy J. Vayalat, owner of the hotel No 18, was arrested under IPC Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) after he was summoned for interrogation for the second straight day. Additional Commissioner K.P. Philip, who is holding the charge of District Police Chief (Kochi City), issued the relevant orders after day-long interrogation. The other five arrested were identified as K.K. Anil, Wilson Reynold, M.B. Melvyn, G.A. Sijulal, and Vishnukumar. They were reportedly IT technicians and employees engaged by the hotel.
“The owner could not produce some missing CCTV footage while his employees had also given a statement to the effect that he had asked them to delete it. Cyber cell officials aided by technicians had examined the hotel and drawn up the list of missing items,” said Mr. Philip.
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A digital video recorder of CCTV cameras from the hotel was allegedly dumped from the Kannamkattu bridge near Thevara. A search in the area conducted by the police along with the employees of the hotel proved futile. The owner was taken to the hotel for detailed evidence collection.
However, there is no clarity yet on whether any untoward incident took place during the party following which the victims felt intimidated and was forced them to leave the hotel and speed away. “We have not received any evidence suggesting that,” said Mr. Philip.
Confusion also prevails over the conversation between Abdul Rahman, the driver and lone survivor involved in the accident, and Shaiju, the driver of another car that was found allegedly tailing them from the hotel. Camera footage along the way had shown them conversing at Kundannoor Junction.
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While Shaiju reportedly told the police that he had followed the car to ask them not to drive under the influence of alcohol, the statement given by Rahman contradicted it. Rahman was arrested for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was later released on bail.
Meanwhile, the family of Ansy Kabeer, one of the two models killed in the accident, has petitioned the Palarivattom police seeking to resolve the alleged mystery behind the incident. They expressed suspicion about the alleged interventions of the hotel owner and sought to know why another car was found tailing the ill-fated car. They said that they had never heard about the owner before.