No Pressure From Judge in Cheranalloor Merc Crash Probe; Outgoing Kochi Commissioner

Thiruvananthapuram: Outgoing Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar denied allegations of facing pressure from the judge or any external forces while investigating the Cheranalloor Mercedes crash involving the minor son of the additional sessions judge.

Speaking to media persons after demitting office, the Commissioner said he was making these remarks openly as he might not get another chance to do so. "The judge has not contacted me in any way. No one connected with the accused has called or spoken to me," he stated.

Kaliraj said he had no regrets about his transfer, explaining that as a government servant he was obliged to follow all decisions. The Commissioner clarified that the transfer was routine and unrelated to the case, which he noted had progressed well from the beginning.

Meanwhile, the investigation team is preparing to recover data from the 17-year-old's mobile phone. Information on the device, including Instagram data, has been deleted. The phone will be sent for expert examination to retrieve the deleted data.

Police have registered a case against the judge, who owns the vehicle, under Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act for letting his underage son drive. The Additional Judge insists he didn’t know his son could drive, repeating this claim during questioning on Thursday. The investigation team plans to gather previous footage of the 17-year-old driving to challenge his statement.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheeshan visited the house of Jayabalakrishnan and met with the family members. He promised full government support to ensure justice for them.

“The chief minister assured us that a free and fair investigation will be conducted. Justice will be delivered to the family,” said Jayabalakrishnan’s daughter, Bhadra Keerthi.