MUNDAKAYAM: A former employee of a lodge in Mundakkayam has revealed that Jesna had taken a room at the lodge with a young man two months before she disappeared. "This matter was not revealed because of the threat of the lodge owner. When I asked the lodge owner, Biju, why this girl was standing here, he threatened me by saying, 'Many people come here, there is no need to interfere and don't disclose the things happening here.'

"Jesna arrived with a white slim guy who looked 25 years old and told me that she was going for an exam in Ernakulam. It was around 12 noon. Jesna left before 5 pm. There is no CCTV camera in the lodge. Everyone's name is not written in the register. I noticed the braces on her teeth when she smiled at me. I remember Jesna's face very clearly. She was wearing a pink dress. I won't recognize the boy if I see him now."

"Jesna took room no. 102. Two months later, I recognized Jesna from the photo in the newspaper. When I asked Biju if she was the kid who came that day, he threatened me by saying, "Don't you have any other work?"

"I had told all these things to the crime branch. Following this, the Pathanamthitta police questioned the lodge owner. I was fired from the lodge after that. Many bad things are being told about me after that. A case has been filed against this. The CBI has not yet sought information from me," said the former employee.

Jesna, a native of Vechoochira, Pathanamthitta and a second-year degree student, went missing on March 22, 2018.

No such person has visited: Lodge owner

Lodge owner Biju said that the current disclosure of the ex-employee was due to personal enmity. "She has filed a case against me saying that I insulted her by calling her by her caste name. She had threatened me and demanded money. I have no memory of such a person. A DYSP had called me to Pathanamthitta and conducted an investigation. The employee was also called. She used to ask for money from the people coming to the lodge and to knock unnecessarily on the room. This is why I fired the employee. She threatened me that if I don't pay 5 lakhs and a house, I will be implicated in the case.

Jasna did not go to Lodge; Jasna's father

PATHANAMTHITTA: Jasna's father, James Joseph, said that the ex-employee's statement that Jasna had stayed at the lodge in Mundakkayam was not true. "Jasna was home on the day the employee said she saw Jasna at the lodge. My daughter did not leave the house that day. I did investigate at the lodge on the days when Jasna went missing. The employee may have been part of an attempt to mislead the investigation," said James Joseph. The CBI team investigating the disappearance case had met James last week and gathered information.