Irish national Andrew Jordan, the partner of the Latvian woman who was murdered near Kovalam, has alleged inconsistencies in the findings of the investigation team and the purported confessions of the suspects.
Addressing mediapersons on Saturday, Mr. Jordan, accompanied by his lawyer, said the probe had come under a cloud. He alleged that the police had shown ‘undue haste’ in cremating the body, raising doubts about attempts to conceal evidence.
While the police claimed that the woman was murdered on the same day she had gone missing, on March 14, the autopsy report conducted after the body was found on April 21 suggested that it was not more than 25 days old. There were reasons to believe that she had been held captive for around two weeks, Mr. Jordan said.
A sweatshirt found on the body had not been accounted for. It had been confirmed that she was not wearing the extra clothing when she was last seen.
“In addition, the post-mortem examination revealed that a blunt injury inflicted with much force on the neck could have led to the fracture of the thyroid cartilage. However, the police maintained that she was murdered by strangulation,” he said.
He also dismissed the possibility that the woman, who had been suffering a mental breakdown, would have entered into a conversation with the suspects, let alone accompany them to the spot near Vazhamuttom as had been claimed by the police.
Mr. Jordan, who was expected to return to Ireland later in the day, moved the High Court on Friday seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case. He added that he would petition the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ireland, seeking steps to exert pressure on the Kerala government in the issue.
Minister’s denial
Meanwhile, Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran has refuted the charges raised by Mr. Jordan. The Minister said the government had followed the wishes of the younger sister of the victim, be it cremating the body or a public event organised by the Tourism Department in her memory. The case was an open book and the victim’s partner had not raised any allegations then. “We do not know his frame of mind,” the Minister said, alleging vested interests behind the controversy.
He refused to comment on the demand for a CBI probe by Mr. Jordan, saying the government had done everything possible to bring the guilty to book.