Kochi: Citing lack of substantial evidence, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday told the Kerala High Court it was closing the probe into the disappearance of Kanjirappally native Jesna Maria James. The central agency said there still was no evidence of what happened and that the probe could not go any further without the investigating team receiving any crucial information.

The CBI took over the search for Jesna based on the Kerala High Court order. The court had directed the CBI to take up the case after Jesna’s brother Jaice John and former president of KSU K M Abhijith moved a plea in this regard citing the failure of the Kerala Police in tracing Jesna.

Kerala police had reportedly achieved significant progress in the investigation, especially during the term of K G Simon as Superintendent of Police, Pathanamthitta. Among the major findings of the police was that Jesna had left her house at Santhosh Kavala, Kollamula in Pathanamthitta based on a well-charted-out plan.

Jesna's disappearance
Jesna, the youngest among the three children of Fancy and James Joseph, was a second-year BCom student at St Dominic’s College, Kanjirappally. She was 21 years old when she went missing.

She left her house at Kollamula on March 22, 2018, around 9 am and was reportedly heading to the house of a relative at Punchavayal in Mundakayam.

From Kollamula, she took an autorickshaw and later boarded a bus to Erumeli. From the Erumeli bus stand, she took a bus to Mundakayam.

She spoke to her fellow passengers en route to Mundakkayam. Though the police probe reached Chennai in search of Jesna there was no headway. There has been no trace of Jesna ever since.

When Jesna's father notified the Erumeli police station, he was asked to approach the Vechuchira station. Though the police had promised to forward the complaint, they failed to do so.

The Vechuchira police were disinterested in the case right from the start. They insisted that the girl eloped and that she would return home in a few days. Jesna's relatives allege that the police began a proper investigation only after two weeks of receiving the complaint.

When police officers recreated her travel path, they found that she was following a plan. For instance, Jesna avoided a relative she saw on the way. Some acquaintances too had noticed her, but Jesna ignored them. There were rumours that Jesna had moved to Syria.