Accident Turns Into an 'Inhumane' Crime

IT was around 9.30 pm on May 9. Nadama native Arun Kumar and his younger brother Midhun were walking along the isolated Pettah-Refinery Road in Tripunithura. As they attempted to cross, a car dashed into them. Midhun narrowly made it across, but Arun was struck head-on.

- TOBY ANTONY

The impact hurled Arun into the air before he crashed onto the road. He lay critically injured as the car sped away.

Alerted by the noise, local residents rushed to the scene and shifted Arun to a nearby hospital. He was later moved to a multi-speciality hospital in Kochi, but the 40-year-old succumbed to his injuries.

The next morning, the Hill Palace police registered a case of death due to negligence. Midhun, the lone eyewitness, was in trauma. He could recall only fragments—a white car and a few uncertain digits from the number plate.

"We formed a dedicated team experienced in hit-and-run investigations. Their priority was to gather every possible CCTV footage available from the area," says an officer at the Hill Palace station.