A Special Investigation Team probing the death of Mishel Shaji Varghese informed the Kerala High Court on Thursday that the investigation conducted so far had revealed that it was a case of suicide.
In its report, the SIT said that Mishel went for prayers at St. Anthony’s Church, Kaloor. She left the church at 6.15 p.m. and travelled all the way to the Vallarpadam bridge, and at 8 p.m. on March 5, she jumped into the Vembanad lake.
The report said that it was revealed from the post-mortem report and the statement of the doctor that no force was used on Mishel and that there was no indication of rape. She was instigated by one Cronin Alexander and he was arrested and later released on bail. The accused had taken Mishel to various places without the knowledge of her parents or her hostel authorities while she was a juvenile. Therefore, his act amounted to an offence under Section 354 D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 11(5) (threatening to use, in any form of media, a real or fabricated depiction through electronic, film or digital or any other mode, of any part of the body of the child or the involvement of the child in a sexual act) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The report was filed in response to a petition by Shaji Varghese, father of Mishel.
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