Kochi rape and torture case: Day after lookout notice, cops yet to zero-in on accused

KOCHI: The city police, investigating the disappearance of 33-year-old Martin Joseph, the prime accused in the rape and assault of a 27-year-old woman for nearly a month at a posh apartment here, appear to be groping in the dark.

The reason: An investigation based on the call data records (CDR) of the accused’s family members and close friends has failed to provide any indication regarding his whereabouts. Though the police, who took nearly two months to realise the gravity of the incident after receiving the complaint from the woman, have not even been able to collect the background details of the accused yet.

Cocking a snook at the police, the accused visited his lawyer to submit the anticipatory bail petition. This is the same police force  which took barely a month to track down Sanu Mohan, the accused in the murder of his 11-year-old daughter Vaiga, here. “We have not been able to obtain any crucial information on his disappearance. Officers have been deployed in several areas. Since the accused is not using his mobile phone,  any investigation based on mobile tower location is a waste of time.  We’re ding everything  to nab him as soon as possible,” said an officer, defending the investigation team.

The lack of progress in the case comes even after the police issued a lookout notice on Tuesday. The case hit the headlines suddenly on Tuesday when a petition was filed before the High Court by the accused and the photographs of the woman, a fashion designer from Kannur, with bruises all over the body surfaced on social media.

Meanwhile, a source confirmed that the police have also deployed a team in Kozhikode. “Some of his friends are there. So they could have helped him go underground. But still, we don’t have enough evidence to track him down,” said another officer.

City Police Commissioner C Nagaraju, on the other hand, expressed confidence that the accused will be tracked down even as he denied any procedural delay in launching the investigation.” There was no procedural hiccup in starting the case. Everything went as per the plan. We are making all efforts to track him down. Within  a few days, he will land in our custody,” the commissioner said.