Thiruvananthapuram: While the police is still groping in the dark over the death of Latvian tourist Liga Kromane, what’s more baffling is the absence of any response from Panathura locality (where Liga’s body was found) to the reward of Rs 3 lakh announced last month for information on Liga. The probe is still centred around the locality.
Meanwhile, forensic experts suggested to the police that it could be a case of strangulation, even as the post-mortem and forensic reports on the real cause of the death were still awaited.
"The final forensic, post-mortem and DNA reports may take a couple of days more. Only afterwards, a conclusion on the cause of death could be ascertained," police sources said.
According to sources, the police had announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh and Liga’s sister Ilze offered Rs 1 lakh to the informants on Liga in March. The police received scores of calls from various parts of the country and even abroad. But there was no informant from Panathura locality even as it is difficult to believe that Liga could reach the spot without being noticed by anyone there. This raises suspicions against the local people.
There are around 40 families in the stretch from the Grow Beach to Panathura, most of them working in local shops and casual workers. Already the police has come across contradictions in the statements of some people. While a woman earlier reportedly told some youth that she had spotted Liga, she denied it to the police.
The police has ended the mystery over the jacket worn by Liga as a vendor at Kovalam confirmed that she had purchased the jacket from him.
