A rope, a tarpaulin and a blue-tinted light have helped Ottapalam police close a hit-and-run case, thanks to civil police officer Jayaraj K. On March 22, a 32-year-old Renjith, who was riding a two-wheeler, died in a road accident at Kothayoor near Vaniyamkulam in Palakkad.

The police recorded that an unidentified vehicle may have caused the accident. The time of occurrence was 1.30 am. The cops were confident. Surveying CCTV visuals would give a number and morning footage would fetch a clearer image.

It was not to be. The two-wheeler was found trailing a truck. The number plate was grilled, and the early-morning visuals recovered from footage were grainy. Even with clear images, the number couldn't be read as it was masked by the grill. The cops then branched out, collecting CCTV visuals on either side of the Vaniyamkulam-Pathamkulam road.

Jayaraj, who was part of the investigation team, rides 48 km from the police station to his house at Puthusserry. Two days ago, he was preoccupied. The probe into the Renjith case was going nowhere. Two other similar cases had come up. He was also looking for a car and a two-wheeler involved in separate cases.

Jayaraj was on his way home after duty when he saw a truck parked by the roadside. He ignored it and rode on. After riding for a kilometre, he decided to turn back. Hours of scouring the visuals had imprinted three images: a rope, a tarpaulin, and a blue light.

He went around the truck and he had a gut feeling it could be the same vehicle. "The driver was sleeping. I woke him up and asked him if the truck was involved in an accident. He told me that on March 22, a herd of boars were crossing the road. He suddenly applied the brakes, and the vehicle swerved to the right. He heard a sound from the rear and thought he had run over an animal. He was scared that the animal would attack him and drove off," said Jayaraj.

Jayaraj had noticed the lights on the front part of the vehicle. There were three bulbs on each end, and the first two lights were closely fitted, which seemed unique to Jayaraj. On the night of the accident, Renjith dropped a friend off at Vaniyamkulam junction and rode him to his home.

When the truck suddenly stopped, he rammed his bike straight into it and got stuck underneath. The cops noticed no scratches, which proved that the bike hadn't skidded off. The handlebar curved inward under the impact, and his chest jammed heavily against it. The driver's call data records also established his presence at the site around the time of the accident.

The driver who also owns the vehicle has pleaded ignorance about the accident. "When we become involved in hit-and-run cases, we think about the families involved. Wherever we go, we tend to look for possible vehicles which may have caused the accident. This information is very important to the families of accident victims and it's our duty. When we told him about the accident and gave all the evidence, he understood the gravity of the offence," said Jayaraj.