Kerala: Trial in rape and murder of Latvian woman begins

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The trial in the Latvian woman's murder case began on Wednesday at the first additional sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram four years after she was found dead in a mangrove.
Ilze Skromane, sister of the Latvian woman, appeared before the court. She was chief examined for nearly two hours and was also cross examined later.
She identified the inner wear, which her sister was wearing when she went missing. The inner wear was recovered by police from the crime spot. But she said in court that the green jacket which was found on her body did not belong to her
However, the prime witness in the case Pradeep AS (39), a native of Santhipuram near Vandithadam, did not turn up on Wednesday citing health issues. The court has now issued summons for him to appear before the court within 24 hours. Last week, Jayapalan (54) of Puthenveedu near Thinavila at Vandithadam, Thiruvallam, was arrested for threatening Pradeep.
Speaking to TOI, Pradeep said, "I will appear before the court without fail on Thursday." The first accused Umesh (32), son of Bhuvanachandran of Vadakkekoonam Thuruthi Veettil, and second accused Udayakumar (28), son of Ramachandran of Vadakkekoonam Thuruthi Vettil, at Vellar in Thiruvallam, are out on bail now.
The case investigation and chargesheet submitted was by DSP Dinil JK, the then Fort ACP.
Special public prosecutor G Mohanraj appeared before the court on behalf of the prosecution. Mohanraj was the special prosecutor in the sensational Vismaya case. The 33-year-old Latvian national had travelled to Kerala for an Ayurvedic treatment and went missing from here on March 14, 2018. Later, her decomposed body was recovered from a mangrove at Panathura on April 20, 2018. There are 104 witnesses, 112 documents and 81 material objects in the case and is being heard by judge KK Balakrishnan.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)