The incident was initially reported as a road accident, but took a dark turn with the emergence of eyewitnesses and other accounts.
(Representational image/Creative Commons)
In a heart-wrenching turn of events, what ended in a fatal collision that claimed the lives of two at Pattazhimukku in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala on the night of Thursday, 28 March, was said to have begun as a “quarrel”.
The incident was initially reported as a road accident, but took a dark turn with the emergence of eyewitnesses and other accounts.
Police said they were exploring all angles, including the possibility of suicide, given the circumstances surrounding the collision and the eyewitness accounts.
The incident occurred when a speeding car rammed into a truck coming from the opposite direction. Hashim (31) of Charummoodu, and Anuja (38) of Kayamkulam lost their lives as a result.
While Hashim was said to be at the wheel, Anuja was the co-passenger. Both friends died on the spot.
Hashim was a private bus driver by profession and Anuja was a teacher at the Government High School in Thumbamon.
According to one of the witnesses, Hashim was driving erratically and was engaged in a heated argument inside the vehicle.
The eyewitness, Sankar Maroor, told reporters, “I spotted this car at Newman Central School and it was travelling at a high speed. But what I spotted was the passengers having a heated argument and a woman inside trying to open the door. They also came to blows.”
Sankar, who is a panchayat member, added that the car was never under the control of the driver (Hashim), and he said he suspected it was a case of drunk driving.
“But when I woke up this morning, I heard this tragic news,” said Sankar.
At the same time, police said they had not ruled out the possibility of the incident being a deliberate act.
One of the police personnel told reporters, “Given the circumstances surrounding the collision and the eyewitness accounts, we are exploring all angles, including the possibility of suicide.”
Police are said to be currently piecing together information — including the victim’s relationship history.
“The investigation is ongoing. We are checking CCTV footage and recording eyewitness accounts. We are trying to locate all those who might have information on the events leading up to the crash,” an officer told South First.
Meanwhile, colleagues of Anuja said that Hashim forcibly took her away when they were en route to Thumbamon from Thiruvananthapuram as part of a school tour.
“At Enathu on the Kollam-Pathanamthitta border, Hashim blocked our vehicle and forcibly took away Anuja,” one of the colleagues told reporters.
“She was not that interested in going with him. But he was creating a scene. She told us that he was her relative,” added the individual.
According to the colleague, when someone from the group called Anuja to check on her, she was whimpering and told that they were going to die.
It is said that once Hashim took Anuja with him, the colleagues alerted her father and husband, who in turn asked them to alert the nearest police station.
Even though eyewitness accounts and police said the collision was deliberate and an act of suicide, Hashim’s father dismissed the speculations.
Talking to reporters, he claimed his son was a strong-willed person and would not die by suicide.
“We don’t know Anuja. All I can say is that he left home after receiving a phone call,” he told the reporters.
“Hashim was a mentally strong person and I don’t believe that he would take such a step,” he said.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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