Missing of Kozhikode-based realtor Mami: department-level inquiry ordered against local police squad

A department-level inquiry has been ordered against four police officers who were initially part of a special squad that investigated the disappearance of Kozhikode-based realtor Mohammed Attoor, alias Mami, in 2023.

The action comes in the wake of a recent Crime Branch report that there were serious flaws on the part of the local police squad in gathering scientific evidence in the case during the initial stages of the investigation. The report also held them responsible for not gathering crucial closed circuit television camera visuals from some of the suspected spots during the “golden hours” to make headway in the probe.

Report in 60 days

Sources said the department-level inquiry ordered by Additional Director General of Police Rajpal Meena (North Zone) would be conducted under the supervision of an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Kozhikode city. The report would be submitted in 60 days for further action, they said.

It was on August 21 that Mr. Mohammed, one of the leading realtors, went missing from Kozhikode city. The Crime Branch (CB) squad took over the case from the local police after the Kerala High Court rejected his family members’ plea to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into his missing. There was also an action committee that fought for a fair investigation into the incident.

Expecting a breakthrough in the probe, the CB squad had questioned about 200 persons who were earlier in touch with Mr. Mohammed for various business deals. This was apart from conducting the complicated tower dump analysis covering various mobile phone towers, which helped them zero in on a few suspicious mobile phone numbers. However, the probe lost steam midway in the absence of crucial evidence that the local police failed to gather in time.