Kerala models' death case: Man who followed Ansi Kabeer's car seeks protection from arrest
The investigation has been handed over to a new Kerala Police team; Hotel owner, staff being grilled
FollowStartling details are emerging from the Kerala Police investigation pertaining to the accident that claimed the lives of Miss Kerala Ansi Kabeer, runner-up Anjana Shajan and a friend. Saiju Thankachan, who was allegedly following the models in an Audi car, has filed an anticipatory bail application in the high court. According to Saiju's bail application, he did not follow the models' vehicle.
The petition claims that the driver of the vehicle they were travelling in was driving under the influence of alcohol and that was what caused the fatal accident. Saiju claimed that Abdul Rahman's statement that the accident was caused because he was following the car was false and that he only advised the driver not to drive under the influence of alcohol.Â
Police have obtained CCTV footage of the Audi car chasing the car in which the models were travelling, and footage of the Audi car returning to the scene of the accident moments later. The car returned after reaching Edappally. There are also shots of someone getting out of the car. Police suspect that both cars may have been racing.
The investigation, meanwhile, has been handed over to a new team led by ACP BG George. The investigation team will work under the District Crime Branch. The other members of the probe team will be decided soon.
Meanwhile, those at a night party at the hotel attended by the models are being questioned in connection with the case. The interrogation is being held at the Palarivattom police station. Six people, including 18 Hotel owner Roy Vayalat, were arrested on Wednesday for destroying a hard disk that was crucial in the case. The five arrested are hotel employees.Â
According to the family's complaint, hotel owner Vayalat's role is suspected in the car accident that led to Ansi's death. The complaint also alleges that the CCTV footage of the hotel on the night of the accident, which was destroyed by staff on Roy's instructions, doubles the mystery. The family also demanded to know why another vehicle chased the car in which the daughter and the group were travelling.Â
Both Ansi and Anjana had been active in the modelling industry and beauty pageants in Kerala. They were killed in an accident near Vyttila on the Ernakulam bypass at around 1 am on November 1. Their car collided with a passing bike and overturned and crashed into a tree. The car was completely destroyed in the accident. Ansi and Anjana died on the spot. Mohammad Aashiq and Abdul Rahman, who were in the car, were rushed to the hospital. Mohammad Ashiq, who was in critical condition, later died. The biker in the accident sustained only minor injuries. It was later revealed that the car involved in the accident was being chased by a group in another car.Â
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