The Kerala High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conclude the investigation into the disappearance of Jesna Maria James, who was last seen in March 2018, in Kottayam, within six months.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan was considering a plea by T.U. Arun of Idukki, alleging that he was unnecessarily harassed by CBI officers during the investigation into Jesna’s disapperance.
After considering a CBI report pointing out certain circumstances against Mr. Arun, the court held that it could not grant a clean chit to the petitioner. It said the CBI had a duty to conduct the investigation lawfully and instructed the petitioner to cooperate with the investigation.
Mr. Arun contended that he had furnished all the information sought by the CBI and had voluntarily undergone scientific examinations like polygraph and brain mapping. Yet, he continued to be treated by the agency as a suspect without any incriminating evidence, he argued. Mr. Arun stated that the agency had repeatedly summoned him on the same set of allegations, visited his residence and met his family and friends, creating an impression that he was responsible in Jesna’s missing case. He also claimed that he lost his job on two occasions due to this.
The court noted that Jesna, a second-year BCom student at St. Dominic’s College, Kanjirapally, had left her residence at Kunnathveedu, Kollamula, on March 22, 2018 and has remained missing ever since. The investigation should not continue indefinitely as eight years has passed since she was last seen, the court said.
It was also recorded that the CBI had filed a closure report before the jurisdictional court, marking the case as ‘undetected’, but had reopened the investigation after the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram, had issued orders on a plea by Jesna’s father James Joseph.
