Jesna missing case: Mystery shrouds bloodstained cloth, unidentified friend

Kottayam: Mystery surrounds a piece of bloodstained cloth found in the room of Jesna Maria James, who has been missing for the past six years.
Jesna, a 20-year-old second-year Bachelor's student left her house at Mukkoottuthara on March 22, 2018, and went missing without a trace. She was last seen boarding a bus from Erumeli.

In a petition filed to the court, her father James Joseph alleged that the crime branch did not properly investigate the cloth with excessive bloodstain found in the young woman's room soon after she went missing. The petition demanded a probe to ascertain where the cloth was stained by menstrual blood or pregnancy-related bleeding.

Jesna had sought treatment from a private hospital for stomach ache a few months before March 2018. Joseph expressed suspicion over a possible link between excessive bleeding and her hospital visit.

Meanwhile, the investigation team suspected that the unidentified young, male friend was Jesna's relative. Joseph had accused laxity on the part of investigators in finding the friend. Referring to the friend, he expressed suspicion that Jesna had been pregnant.

Earlier, Joseph claimed that Jesna used to meet the unknown friend every Thursday at a place of worship. The crime branch, which probed the case before the CBI took over, said the place of worship was a nearby church. After its investigation, the CBI submitted a case closure report to the court.

Joseph once again approached the court seeking an order to continue the probe, citing the contradictory findings of the crime branch and the CBI. While the crime branch maintained that the bloodstained cloth was found, the CBI refuted the claim and added that the doctors, who treated Jesna, stated that she had not shown any symptoms of pregnancy.