KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has ordered the central government to review its decision not to allow a CBI team to visit the United States to probe a case where an Indian woman died of burn injuries under suspicious circumstances. Her Indian husband had allegedly claimed that the fire was caused by her lighted cigarette that ignited the nail polish remover she was using.

Considering a petition filed by K Gopinathan, father of Anitha Pathiyil who died in September 2004 at her California residence, justice Sunil Thomas ordered CBI to effectively utilize the extradition treaty in existence between India and the US. The agency should also consider issuing a lookout notice or red corner notice against the husband to ensure that he is brought to India for effective interrogation, the court ordered.

Upon learning about their daughter sustaining burn injuries, the petitioner and his wife had flown to California but she was in a critical stage and details could not be elicited from her. After her death, the body was cremated in California itself. The son-in-law had not returned to India since 2007.

As the version put forward by the son-in-law was suspicious, the woman’s father filed a complaint before Hemambika Nagar police at Palakkad and the probe was later handed over to CBI by the high court. CBI had filed a closure report before the CJM court but it was rejected by noting that the investigation team did not visit the place of occurrence, did not attempt to trace out the evidence, and failed to approach the competent authority to get custody of the accused for interrogation.

Approaching the high court seeking a speedy investigation by CBI by visiting the US, the father’s counsel PK Varghese pointed out that an expert arson investigator in California, who had seen the photograph of Anitha from the coroner’s office, had informed the investigator in USA that he did not believe that normal line of finger nail polish remover could have resulted in the burn pattern seen on Anitha. Nail polish remover is a very flammable compound that requires an open flame to ignite and an ignition source such as a cigarette would not be enough to ignite it, it was opined.

While so, the CBI team attempted to travel abroad to question the accused but permission was denied by the central government by stating that there is no scope for questioning the accused abroad at this length of time.

Ruling against the central government, the court said in the judgment, “Definitely, CBI being the prime investigating agency in the country on whom people trust for effective investigation cannot raise its hand in despair in a case of this nature. Definitely, CBI seems to have undertaken considerable effort. However, considering the nature of allegations,first the accused needs to be brought to India for effective interrogation.”

