VADAKARA: The car that was hit by a vehicle in which Puthalath Baby (62), a native of Thalassery, died and his granddaughter, nine-year-old Drishana, was seriously injured and left in a coma, has been found. Kozhikode District Police Chief (Rural) Nithin Raj informed about the discovery of the car. The Maruti Swift car that had gone towards Thalassery on the day of the accident has been seized and the owner of the RC that was driving the vehicle, Shajeer, a native of Athurugiriya, has gone abroad, the SP said in a press conference.
He caused the accident by driving recklessly. The Rural SP said that he fled the scene after the accident, thinking that he would be caught and later modified the car. It was only after investigating that a vehicle similar to the white Swift car in the visuals received by the police that day came to claim insurance that it became clear that it was the car that caused the accident.
The accident took place on the night of February 17 this year at the Amruthanandamayi Mutt stop in Chorode near Vadakara. Around 9 pm, a white car hit and killed the two while they were crossing the road after getting off the bus to go to their relatives' house in Chorode. The car then drove away without stopping.
Baby was dead by the time he was taken to the hospital. Drishana was unconscious and was undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for a long time. Drishana is the daughter of Sudheer and Smitha of Chovva Vadakkan Kovil in Kannur. After the accident, the police checked the CCTV footage from the area, but no evidence was found. Later, there was no progress in the investigation. With this, the relatives filed a complaint with the Chief Minister and others. The investigation was then intensified again.