Mishel Shaji Varghese.Kochi: The Crime Branch sleuths probing the death of Chartered Accountancy student Mishel Shaji plan to investigate if she was abducted on the day she was reported to be missing after her father raised such a doubt. She was found dead near the Ernakulam wharf on March 6.
Mishel's father, Shaji Varghese, told the cops that a luxury ship had harbored in Kochi lake the day Mishel went missing and that he suspected that a gang “supplying” women for tourists was operating in Kochi. He said she could have fallen prey to such a gang.
He said someone, who is acquainted with Mishel, could have lured her into the boat and later abandoned her in the lake, after harming her.
Though the chances of such a crime is less at a wharf that is under the scanner of the CISF, the Crime Branch wants to probe the allegations apparently to clear the air. Mishel's postmortem report also did not mention any sign of assault or injuries to her body, adding little weight to the claims.
The cops will quiz owners and employees of the private boats that ran services off Ernakulam and High Court jetties on March 5.
Girl seen in CCTV footage not Mishel?
The investigating team had earlier said that Mishel could have killed herself by jumping off the Goshree bridge around 7.45 p. m. on March 5. They had found CCTV footage showing a girl, suspected to be Mishel, walking towards the Goshree bridge.
However, Shaji told the cops that he did not believe that the girl seen in the CCTV footage recorded from near High Court junction was his daughter. Shaji expressed his doubts in the second round of statement recording.
The Crime Branch has received information that a youth from Thalassery, who was stalking Mishel, had reached Ernakulam Town Hall a week before her death.
Meanwhile, Cronin Alexander, Mishel's estranged boyfriend who was arrested in connection with the death, was presented before a court on Monday as his custody period ended.
Mishel left her hostel on March 5 to go to the church and was reported to be missing since. She was found dead near the Ernakulam wharf on March 6.
