The investigation into the Nedumbassery car accident that claimed three lives has been handed over to Aluva DySP Baiju Paulose, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Besides, R. Nishanthini, IGP, South Zone, has been entrusted with hearing the complaints and concerns of the victims’ families. Mr. Chennithala said the government was prepared to appoint a special public prosecutor in the case. Steps would be taken to ensure the maximum possible punishment for the accused, he added.
Mr. Chennithala also condemned attempts to give a communal colour to the incident.
Meanwhile, the State Excise Commissioner suspended the licences of three bars in Ernakulam — Monsoon Empress, Palarivattom, Courtyard by Marroitt at Nedumbassery, and Daya by Renai at Vyttila — on the charge of serving liquor to the accused in the case aged under 23.
The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly, sent all the four accused in the case to police custody on Wednesday. They will have to be returned to judicial custody by 5 p.m. on Thursday.
The accused will be taken to the accident spot along the Athani-Cochin International Airport Road for evidence collection and scene reconstruction. The court witnessed heated arguments, with the defence accusing the police of approaching the investigation in a prejudiced manner.
The prosecution, on its part, sought custodial interrogation to probe the possibility of a conspiracy or prior enmity behind the incident. The defence counsels’ plea for leniency, citing the young age of the accused and the absence of criminal antecedents, was countered by the prosecution, which argued that the three victims who lost their lives were also equally young and had their own dreams and aspirations.
Meanwhile, the car involved in the accident was examined by forensic experts on Wednesday to retrieve data from its Event Data Recorder to assess the vehicle’s speed, throttle input, and braking pattern at the time of the crash.
The custody application of the accused came amid a heated debate over the manner in which the police have handled the case. Questions have been raised over the decision to remand the key accused, Suhail Sajeev, 19, to a Borstal School despite him not being a juvenile.
The police defended the move, citing Section 324 of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Management) Rules and noting that it was in accordance with an order issued by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly. In its remand report, the police stated that investigators were also examining whether the accused was under the influence of narcotic substances and whether the speeding car had been involved in illegal racing. The court will consider the bail petitions of the accused on Friday.
The CPI(M) staged a protest march to the Nedumbassery police station on Wednesday. District Secretary S. Satish inaugurated the march organised by the CPI(M) Aluva Area Committee.
