Kochi rape and torture case: No inquiry into lapses even 13 days after arrest

KOCHI: The city police, who have openly acknowledged the delay in arresting the main accused in the rape and assault of a woman in a luxury apartment in Kochi, are yet to start its probe on the lapses even 13 days after the city police commissioner had demanded a detailed report within three days.Though the commissioner had ordered an inquiry a day after accused Martin Joseph was arrested from Thrissur and asked the ACP to submit a report, no officer has been questioned so far on the alleged lapses in the case.

Sources said the police are trying to save the officers who were responsible for the delay in launching an investigation into the incident in which a 27-year-old fashion designer from Kannur was allegedly tortured brutally and raped by Martin Joseph, who claimed to be a stock trader.

“The commissioner had instructed us to submit the report within three days. As per our information, no officer has been questioned and no file looked into as part of the department-level inquiry,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.

Interestingly, it’s also learnt that the police are delaying the department-level inquiry, fearing that it will affect the morale of the officers who had spent sleepless nights for nabbing Martin Joseph and his close aides. The case, which had gone unnoticed by the police, gained public attention only after photographs of the woman with bruises all over her body surfaced on social media. Only after that, the police issued a lookout notice for Martin Joseph, who was leading a luxurious life in Kochi.

The police cited the ongoing investigation into the apartment assault case as the reason for the delay. “Our team is still investigating the case. We are probing the financial transactions and other connections of Martin. So far, no one has been deputed to conduct the department-level inquiry into the lapses. It will be done soon,” said DCP Aishwarya Dongre.