Abhishek, who was in Coimbatore, asked his sister

Abhishek, who was in Coimbatore, asked his sister to stay back and give him time until he reached Thrissur. “But around 5.30 pm, I received a call from Justin’s father, who told me that Anliya is missing and asked if she had come to Coimbatore. I was surprised, because I was chatting with her just an hour before that. The next call I got was from a police official, asking me if Anliya had gone to any relative’s house,” he recalls.
“And then, a few days later, my daughter’s body was found in the river,” says Hygenous.
“I made a mistake; my wife, son and relatives blame me for that. I ignored all the criticisms for getting Anliya married to Justin. Today, it is haunting me. I cannot sleep in the house where Anliya stayed. I lost my life. She asked me to raise her child like how I raised her. Even their neighbours asked why I sent my child to a family who never interacted with others. I sent my child to a family that is inhumane. But I did not know.... I never knew I was giving away my child to death…” says Hygenous, as he breaks down.
The funeral
Circumstances did not look good even after Anliya’s death. “Justin refused to identify Anliya’s body. He had already removed the wedding ring from his finger. Justin and his family did not attend the funeral. They did not even let the child see its own mother,” he says.
The day Anliya “went missing”, Justin informed the Railway officials. Instead of informing Anliya’s parents, Justin asked the officials to convey the news.
Hygenous also suspects the involvement of a priest, Father Vipin, who is also their close friend. “On the day of my daughter’s funeral, Fr Vipin came to warn me, that if I pursue a case against Justin, he will support the latter. My daughter had once asked me not to let Fr Vipin inside our house and that she lost trust in any men. So one can understand what she meant,” Hygenous tells TNM, hours after he held a press meet to convey his suspicion.
Soon after their daughter’s funeral, Hygenous and Leelamma took ill and were hospitalised. On recovering, Anliya’s parents started putting together shreds of evidence from their own apartment in Kochi – the evidence that their 25-year-old had left behind, should something bad happen to her. A diary, a police complaint that was never filed, and drawings – all pointing to domestic violence.
Hygenous decided to fight for his “favourite child”. He gave up his job, decided to push harder for justice and knocked on the door of the Chief Minister, who then handed over the case to the Crime Branch.