The probe into the November 1 midnight car crash in Kochi that killed two noted fashion models and their friend is now focussed on a few guests they met at a Fort Kochi hotel before the accident.
Saiju Thankachan, the driver of the Audi car which chased the car in which models Ansi Kabeer and Anjana Shajan were travelling, has links with the drug trafficking mafia operating in Kochi.
According to police, he is a peddler involved in trafficking chemical drugs to Kochi from Bengaluru. In May, the Director General of Police (DGP) received a report that drugs used to be transacted at No 18 Hotel at Fort Kochi where the models had partied hours before their last trip. Saiju's photographs were also attached with the Intelligence report. But no follow-up action was taken on the basis of the Intelligence report allegedly due to hotel owner Roy J Vayalat closeness with a few IPS officers.
Crime Branch to probe
Meanwhile, the investigation into the deaths has been handed over to the Crime Branch as the local police could not make much headway in the investigation even 18 days after the incident. Crime Branch Assistant Commissioner of Police (AP) Biji George will head the inquiry team.
Afterparties at No 18 hotel
Drugs are not allowed in night parties in Kochi. So, to overcome this hurdle, the practice in many city hotels was that after the night parties, people dispersed and met in small groups at some low-profile places. In these afterparties, drugs are supplied to customers.
The peculiarity of No 18 hotel was that these afterparties were held in the hotel itself. Youngsters were attracted in large numbers to the "Club 18" parties during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
The police have reportedly received information that on the night before the accident, Saiju had Ansi and Anjana to an afterparty which was exclusively held for a handful of VIPs at No 18 hotel.
But the models turned down the invite and left the hotel along with their friends. Provoked by their action, Saiju chased them in another car.
The driver of the ill-fated car Abdul Rahman gave a statement that Saiju, who blocked them somewhere between Kundanoor and Vyttila junctions, reportedly invited them to his house by offering them expensive drugs.
