Kerala police messed up with probe: CBI SP

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CBI SP Nandakumaran Nair, who was the investigating officer in Sister Abhaya murder case, told the CBI special court on Tuesday that there had been major flaws in the initial investigation by Kerala Police and crime branch in the murder case.
“Finger prints from crime scene were not tested, inquest report was manipulated, no forensic examination was done on the chappal and veil received from the crime scene and some of the material evidence collected had gone missing,” Nair said during the examination by CBI prosecutor M Navas.Nair who took over the investigation in 2008 arrested Fr Thomas Kottoor, Sister Sephy and Fr Jose Puthrukayil in the case in November 2008. He said the arrests were to be made as the accused failed to explain the evidences against them. Fr Puthrukayil was later discharged from the case by the high court. The other two accused are now facing trial in CBI special court.
Efforts of Nair to refer to the narco-analysis test and brain fingerprinting test which had revealed that the accused had been complicit in the case during examination invited objection from the defence counsel B Raman Pillai. He referred to the high court verdict against examining the officials of Forensic Science Lab, Bangalore, who had conducted narco analysis, as witnesses in the case citing the Supreme Court order delivered in 2010, and argued that the findings of forensic test couldn’t be marked as evidence. The SC had ordered that conducting narco analysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests on accused, suspects and witnesses without their consent, is unconstitutional and violation of the ‘right to privacy’.
During cross examination, Pillai raised a high court order that contained severe criticism against Nair in another case. But, Nair replied with the verdict in his appeal against the same order in which the high court chief justice had given him a clean chit. Cross examination of Nair will continue on Wednesday. And with that, the examination of all prosecution witnesses will be complete.