A court in Angamaly has granted police custody of four accused, including the 19-year-old driver of the Mini Cooper involved in a fatal crash near Kochi, as investigators pursue further questioning into the deaths of three young people.
The custody was granted until 5 pm on Thursday after the accused were produced before the court. They had earlier been remanded to judicial custody and sent to a Borstal school, a correctional facility for young offenders, according to police. The police had sought custody to question them in connection with the crash.
The accident took place early on Sunday at Nedumbassery, near Kochi, when the Mini Cooper allegedly travelling at high speed hit a scooter. Three people, all aged around 21 and including two women, died in the collision.
Police have alleged that the car was being driven by Suhail, 19, under the influence of alcohol. A medical examination reportedly found a high level of alcohol in his bloodstream. Following the examination, investigators invoked additional charges against the accused, the report said.
The charges include Section 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to rash driving, along with Sections 49 and 3(5), concerning abetment and common intention. Police have also invoked Section 105 of the BNS, which relates to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which concerns driving by a drunken person.
The court’s decision places the next stage of the investigation within a limited custody window. Police are expected to use the period to question the accused and examine the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the sequence of events before the collision and the alleged use of alcohol.
The case has also become an issue in the Kerala Assembly. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told the House on Wednesday that strong action would be taken against those accused, according to the report. He was responding to a submission by Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, who referred to media reports alleging delays in registering the first information report, arresting the driver and conducting the medical examination.
The reported delays have added scrutiny to the early response by law-enforcement agencies. In fatal road-crash investigations, the timing of the FIR, arrest and medical examination can become important to establishing the sequence of events and documenting evidence. The police have not indicated in the supplied report how the alleged delays affected the investigation.
The court has granted police custody until 5 pm on Thursday. Further proceedings and the investigation will determine how the charges develop as evidence is collected.
