Local drug peddlers and card players in the Kovalam region are under the scanner of the police investigating the death of Latvian woman Liga Skromane, whose decomposed body was found from an isolated area near Kovalam. They are being monitored after the police found contradictions in the statements of a few rounded-up for questioning.
The police have also recorded statements from other locals, who said they had seen Liga going to the isolated mangrove forest.
The post-mortem report that got delayed is expected on Thursday. Though the police are yet to get the results of DNA test, they are going ahead with the probe assuming that the recovered body was that of Liga, who went missing on March 14. Liga’s partner Andrew Jordan and her sister Ilze Skromane had identified the body as Liga's. Though the police team is yet to find out the actual cause of the death - either suicide or murder - piecing together the circumstantial evidence they have reached the conclusion that Liga died on March 15 or 16.
The police have questioned many locals in and around Kovalam and Thiruvallam. Two women have given the statement that they had seen Liga going towards the isolated place alone. But the police team is not fully convinced.
The police also found that the place where Liga's body was found is frequented by drug peddlers and card players. The contradictory statements given by some of them have prompted the police to keep a tab on them. The delay in getting the scientific reports is also affecting the smooth conduct of the investigation.
Doctors of forensic department of Medical College had told the police the other day that the death could have occurred due to asphyxiation - the state or process of being deprived of oxygen. But it has to be seen whether the final autopsy report also contains the same reason for the death.
Doctors are also checking whether there is any presence of poison in the body. If poison is found then the earlier claim of the police that it could be a case of suicide will gain strength.
This article was originally published in Onmanorama on April 26 2018