According to police officials, Vaiga, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances was strangulated to death by her father, Sanu Mohan. As of now, there is no evidence leading the police to belief that he was working in hand with someone in connection with Vaiga’s death. Kochi City Police Commissioner H Nagaraju said Sanu’s statement was inconsistent and that he was leading a double life.
According to Sanu, he feared no one would look after his daughter after he died. He claimed his wife would not look after her. Sanu, who is neck deep in financial problems, is said to have planned to have commit suicide after killing Vaiga. He however developed cold feet after dumping her body in Muttar river. The police have discovered the blanket that was used to wipe the blood of Vaiga’s nose when he strangled her. Police have also found bloodstains at another spot in the flat but have yet to determine whose blood it is. Police say a forensic examination will reveal if the blood is Vaiga’s or someone else’s. Meanwhile, a post mortem report reveals traces of alcohol in Vaiga’s stomach.
According to Sanu, Vaiga’s motionless body was wrapped in a blanket and placed in the back of the car. Police say there are witnesses who saw Sanu carrying a bundle from his apartment in Kochi. However, what’s strange is that there are no force marks on the child’s body and the post mortem report states that the child death was by drowning.
Police feel that Sanu must have thrown an unconscious Vaiga into the river thinking she was dead. A frightened Sanu then decided to flee the State.
According to the police, Vaiga’s was a well-planned murder as Sanu had not used his mobile phone after the incident. Nagaraju said that Sanu went into hiding without leaving any digital traces. When he was arrested, a mobile phone was found on him with an unknown number.
Sanu, who supposedly try to commit suicide several times after his daughter’s death, is addicted to gambling and has a Rs 3 crore cheating case against him in Maharasthra. As the accused is constantly shifting his statements, the police will produce Sanu in court and seek his custody for further interrogation.
More than three weeks after Vaiga was found death in river Muttar, Kochi on March 23, her father, Sanu Mohan, who went missing on March 20, was caught by the police in Karnataka on April 18.
Thirteen-year-old Vaiga’s body was found in the river, a day after she had gone missing with her father. While the preliminary post mortem examination reported drowning as the cause of the girl’s death, a forensic visceral examination later found alcohol content in the young girl’s body. There no injuries or signs of assault on the body.
"As per the autopsy report, Vaiga died of drowning. But with the lab report, it is crystal clear that there an attempt of murder. So far Sanu was not added as an accused in this but this will be added after quizzing Sanu," said a police officer.
According to reports, Sanu was arrested by the police from Karwar in north Karnataka and was later handed over to the Kerala police.
The police cracked the case recovering a CCTV footage of Sanu at a hotel and other places in Mookambika.
Mohan was based in Pune before settling down at Thrikkakara five and a half years ago. Mohan, who is said to have been neck deep in financial problems, was last seen when he left with his daughter in his car from their apartment at Thrikkakara on March 20. The mystery behind Vaiga’s death intensified, and Mohan’s role behind the death was suspected, when police discovered CCTV footage of Mohan crossing the Walayar check post on March 21.
