Major breakthrough in girl’s death case

Kochi City police receive CCTV footage of her father from Mookambika

In a major breakthrough in the case pertaining to the mysterious death of a 13-year-old girl who was found drowned last month, the Kochi City police have received CCTV footage of Sanu Mohan, father of the deceased who has been missing since then, from the pilgrimage centre of Mookambika.

The breakthrough comes at a time when the police are yet to rule out the possibility of murder. The girl’s body was found floating in the Muttar river on March 22, a day after she had gone missing along with her father.

Since then, the police had been on the hunt for Mohan who was eventually spotted on the streets of Mookambika on Friday around 8.35 p.m. thanks to CCTV footage.

“It has emerged that he had been staying at a hotel at Mookambika for three to four days before he left on Friday night without footing the bill. He was supposed to return around 11 a.m. but did not, leaving the hotel officials suspicious and prompting them to alert the police,” said C.H. Nagaraju, District Police Chief (Kochi City).

The police have received a copy of the Aadhaar card that Mohan had given at the hotel. Though he had shared a mobile number as well, it was found to be no longer in use. It emerged that the number was the one that the police had tried to reach unsuccessfully several times since the launch of the probe.

It is learnt that he was mostly cocooned in his room and was found invariably wearing the mask when he emerged out of the room. “The CCTV footage has confirmed one of our theories that he is still alive,” said Mr. Nagaraju.

Since receiving the information, the Kochi City police have deployed not less than five teams in Mookambika and cities abutting it. “We have also alerted airports and railway stations to foil his attempts to flee. We are confident of nabbing him in a matter of days,” said Mr. Nagaraju.

The police have reached the conclusion that the girl was alive at the time she hit the water and eventually drowned. Though they have arrived at some theories behind the suspected murder, the police were not willing to reveal them before they got Mohan in custody. They are also waiting for the results of forensic examinations at the apartment where the family lived.

The mystery shrouding the girl’s death further thickened when Mohan was reportedly spotted crossing the Walayar check-post following which the police sent teams to Tamil Nadu. A lookout notice had also been issued since then.