TrivandrumLife>> Kerala has witnessed several crimes committed by jilted men ranging from murder, acid attacks to revenge porn. Here, a city-based young entrepreneur had to go through her worst nightmare for turning down a marriage proposal. It took more than 6 months for 35-year-old Shobha Vishwanath to prove that she didn’t use the store she build up from scratch for ‘ganja trade’.
The villain of the story is a UK-based businessman- Harish Haridas, who trapped Shobha in a narcotic case and got her arrested by the police. The conspiracy was revealed in a probe conducted by the Crime Branch wing of the police.
As per the report submitted by the Crime Branch before Judicial First Class Magistrate – III, the main accused is Harish, the son of Dr. K P Haridas, the founder and chairman of LORDS Hospital in the city. Vivek Raj, a former employee of Sobha’s clothing store – Weavers Village- is another accused.
On January 21, 2021, the officials of Museum police station conducted a raid and seized 480 grams of ganja from Weavers Village at Vazhuthacaud. Shobha, who was at the Kovalam branch of the store, was summoned to Vazhutacaud and was arrested. Shobha alleged that police did not consider the possibility of a conspiracy despite her repeated plea that she was innocent.
The story could have been different if the accused put an extra thought to place a higher amount of ganja as a single packet in the store. Though she was arrested, Shobha was released on a bail from the station itself as the among seized was less than one kilogram.
Though she was advised to pay a fine of Rs 2000, Shobha decided to fight the case and prove her innocence. She filed a petition before the CM and the DGP seeking a detailed probe.
The Crime Branch team, led by Deputy Superintendent S Amminikuttan, examined CCTV visuals and found out suspicious movements of a maid . On questioning, the maid revealed involvement of Vivek Raj, who had visited the store once and asked her to turn off the CCTV cameras. Raj also showed the probe team more ganja hidden in the store’s bathroom, which the local police could not find in the first inspection. Though Raj was arrested, police have not arrested Harish, who was found to have handed over the ganja to Raj. The maid too has not been included in the list of accused.
Harish, a family friend, had expressed his interest to marry Shobha, who is living separated from her husband for around six years ago. Her divorce case is still going on before the court. Shobha, who already went through an abusive relationship, turned down the proposal around two years ago. It became clear that Harish was plotting plan to take a revenge since then.
