Luxury Watches, Other Evidence Linked To 124 Cases Missing From Kerala Court

In a major security lapse involving judicial custody, case property linked to 124 cases has been found missing from the strong room of the Ernakulam district court in Kerala.

The disappearance came to light after a litigant approached the court to collect a luxury Rado watch, valued at Rs 1.90 lakh, following the conclusion of a case before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-2.

In a major embarrassment, court officials attempted to retrieve the watch but found the it could not be located.

The watch was part of the evidence in a 2016 Kochi case in which a quotation gang allegedly threatened a woman industrialist and took away a luxury car worth Rs 1.5 crore, along with the watch.

Police subsequently recovered the car from a moneylender in Thriprayar, Thrissur.

An audit initiated after the complaint about the missing watch uncovered a much larger discrepancy, with property connected to 123 more cases also unaccounted for. Watches of various brands reportedly make up a significant portion of the missing items.

Ernakulam central police have registered a case based on a complaint filed by the court's junior superintendent.

Investigators are expected to question the employee responsible for the strong room as part of efforts to establish how the property went missing.

The discovery has raised serious concerns about the security of and accountability for evidence kept in judicial custody.