Jesna missing case: CBI rules out involvement of terror outfits

Pathanamthitta: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has rejected the involvement of religious extremist groups behind the missing of Jesna Maria James after confirming that she was not converted to any other religion.
In its 52-page long report submitted before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court here, the central probe agency asserted that no evidence was recovered to confirm Jesna's death. 

The court sent a notice to Jesna's father to appear before it on January 19 for further hearing over the report. The findings of the Kerala Police are included in the CBI report. 

On Tuesday, the central agency told the court that it was closing the probe citing lack of substantial evidence.
Though the probe team had examined every nook and corner of the suicide points in the state, there was no clue about Jesna's presence in these spots. She went missing from Erumely in Pathanamthitta in 2018. 

Police also took her father and his friend for brain mapping after suspecting their involvement in the girl's sudden disappearance. But no crucial details were received from these tests. Tracing the missing girl turned into a herculean task for the probe team as the missing girl had left her phone at her house. 

“Jesna only had a few friends. Unlike the youngster, she was using a keypad mobile phone,” reads the CBI report. Apart from Kerala, the police had searched for the girl in other states too. But no trace of murder or suicide was identified. Search in the lower Periyar dam also turned futile. 

The Kerala High Court ordered Crime Branch to hand over the case to CBI in 2021. After taking over the probe into the case, CBI issued yellow notices through interpol in 191 countries to trace the college girl. A Yellow Notice is a global police alert for a missing person.

The Yellow Notice has been issued since there is no information yet on the whereabouts of Jesna who went missing on March 22, 2018. The details on the case as well as Jesna's photo and identification marks have been handed over to Interpol in different countries.

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.