Jesna missing case: High Court directs CBI to complete investigation within six months

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has directed the CBI to complete its investigation into the disappearance of Jesna Maria James within six months. Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan issued the order while disposing of a petition filed by T.U. Arun, a resident of Uppukandam in Idukki district. Arun alleged that CBI officials had been repeatedly summoning and harassing him during the investigation.

The court directed the petitioner to cooperate with the investigation and said that questioning should be conducted in accordance with the law. It noted that the probe has remained inconclusive even after eight years.

When the petition came up for hearing on July 3, the court had asked the CBI to submit a status report. Justice Kunhikrishnan said the court would not comment on the contents of the report submitted in a sealed cover. However, considering the circumstances pointed out by the CBI, the court said it could not grant the petitioner a clean chit.

Arun had told the court that the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the CBI's Thiruvananthapuram unit had been repeatedly summoning him. He said he had fully cooperated with the investigation by handing over his mobile phone and documents and by undergoing scientific tests, including polygraph and brain mapping. He also alleged that investigators continued to treat him as a suspect and had questioned his relatives and neighbours. Arun said he had lost his job twice and suffered severe mental stress because of the investigation.

Jesna, a second-year B.Com student at St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally, went missing from Kollamula in Pathanamthitta district on March 22, 2018. The case was initially investigated by the local police and the Crime Branch before being handed over to the CBI following a High Court order.