CMO constitutes a special team to probe the “Mami” disappearance case

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office (CMO) has constituted a special team to investigate the disappearance of a Kozhikode-based business person, Muhammad Atoor, alias Mami, in 2023. 

A press release issued by the CMO said the Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch. H Venkatesh will head the probe. 

The missing person case had become politically controversial after Left Democratic Front (LDF) independent legislator P.V. Anvar linked the police and what he termed a mafia in North Kerala to the businessman’s disappearance. 

He also accused State law enforcement, headed by the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M R Ajith Kumar, of slowing down the probe. 

Mr. Anvar’s accusations prompted Mr. Atoor’s family to move Mr Vijayan for a CBI inquiry. The family also petitioned the High Court to refer the case to the central agency. 

Mr. Anvar also claimed that the police team that investigated the sensational case initially recommended a CBI investigation. 

Mr. Atoor’s family reported that the businessman was missing from Kozhikode on August 22, 2023. The police probe soon reached a dead end. Mr. Anvar resurrected the case by accusing the police of having a hand in the disappearance. 

Leader of the Opposition, V. D. Sateeshan, dared Mr. Vijayan to order a CBI probe if the government had nothing to hide. He said he did not trust the Crime Branch probe under the current disposition.