Kerala girl's disappearance: CBI says no trace; closes the 2018 case

Thiruvananthapuram: In the 2018 case of a Kerala girl, Jesna Maria James, who went missing, the CBI closed the case, concluding that no trace of her could be found. The agency submitted a closure report before the court stating that it couldn't find what happened to the girl, citing a lack of substantial evidence.

It dismissed the Kerala Police Crime Branch's report that the girl, who was missing from Kottayam district's Mundaykayam, was converted. In its report, CBI stated that no terrorist groups were behind the 20-year-old girl's disappearance, adding that the agency had investigated various religious conversion centres in the country.

CBI led their probe into religious centres in Ponnani, Arya Samaj centres, and outside Kerala but couldn't find any leads. Further, the agency has checked unidentified dead bodies and suicide points inside and outside Kerala. Even whether she had registered for Covid-19 vaccines was also checked, but there were no leads.

International agency Interpol has issued a yellow notice for Jasna, and further probe could be conducted only if Interpol could provide any leads.

There was suspicion around Jesna's father and brother that they might have a hand in her disappearance. However, CBI stated that both were taken to the best labs in the country for scientific tests and that the trial was also a dead end. It was concluded that they had no involvement in the case.

CBI submitted before the court that the first 48 hours in any missing cases are crucial and are considered the golden hours. The agency blamed the state police for not using it effectively. It said that if an investigation had been conducted at that stage, some evidence would have been obtained.

Jesna, who hails from Erumeli town in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, went missing on March 22, 2018. As per records, she left home saying that she was going to her relative's house, and it was confirmed that she took a bus from Erumeli to Mundakayam. Investigation found that she had made some phone calls to her friend and texted the friend that she was going to die.

CBI took over the case in February 2021 as per Kerala High Court directions after local police, a special team and the crime branch investigated the case. Despite two years of probe, the CBI couldn't find her, and it submitted its final report before the court stating that the agency was closing the case. It promised that it would restart the investigation on the case if any fresh leads were found in the future.