Aluva DySP Baiju Paulos is investigating the Nedumbassera car accident case

The car that was involved in an accident at Nedumbassery in Kochi on Sunday. Three young men died in the accident. | Photo credit: ANI

The investigation into the Nedumbassera car accident that claimed three lives has been handed over to Aluva DySP Baiju Paulos, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced at a rally on Wednesday.

Besides, R. Nishanthini, IGP, South Zone, has been deputed to hear the grievances and concerns of the victims’ families. Mr. Chennithala said the government was ready to appoint a special prosecutor in the case. Steps would be taken to ensure maximum possible punishment for the accused, he added.

Mr. Chennithala also condemned attempts to give a communal color to the incident.

Meanwhile, the state excise commissioner has suspended the licenses of three bars in Ernakulam — Monsoon Empress, Palarivattom, Courtyard by Marroitt in Nedumbassery and Daya by Renai in Vyttil — on charges of serving liquor to the under-23 accused in the case.

The Angamaly First Class Judicial Court sent all the four accused in the case to police custody on Wednesday. They will have to return them to judicial custody by 17:00 on Thursday.

The accused will be taken to the accident site along the Athani-Cochin International Airport Road for evidence collection and crime scene reconstruction. The court witnessed heated arguments, the defense accused the police of biased approach to the investigation.

The prosecution, on its part, sought custodial interrogation to probe the possibility of conspiracy or prior enmity behind the incident. The defense’s plea for leniency, citing the accused’s young age and lack of criminal history, was challenged by the prosecution, which argued that the three victims who lost their lives were also equally young and had dreams and aspirations of their own.

Meanwhile, the car involved in the accident was examined by forensic experts on Wednesday to obtain data from its Event Data Recorder to assess the vehicle’s speed, accelerator pedal and braking pattern at the time of the crash.

The proposal to remand the accused came amid heated debates about the way the police handled the case. Questions have been raised over the decision to send key accused Suhail Sajeev, 19, to the Borstal School despite not being a juvenile.

The police defended the move citing Section 324 of the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services (Procedure) Rules and said it was in compliance with an order passed by the First Class Magistrate, Angamaly. The police said in the arrest report that the investigators are also checking whether the accused was under the influence of narcotics and whether the speedster was involved in illegal races. The court will consider the bail proposals of the accused on Friday.

The CPI(M) took out a protest march to the Nedumbassery police station on Wednesday. District Secretary S. Satish launched the march organized by the CPI(M) Aluva Area Committee.

Published – 14 Oct 2026 21:47 IST