Around last midnight, Anuja Raveendran(36), a native of Nooranad, Alappuzha and Hashim Manzil Hashim (35) of Charumoodu Palamel, Alappuzha, died in a collision between a car and a container lorry at Adoor Pattazhimukku in Pathanamthitta. Several questions remain unanswered in a case that looks like grooming jihad has gone terribly wrong for the young Hindu lady.

Anuja is a teacher at North Thumpamon Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) in the Pathanamthitta district. Her husband is a businessman from Kayamkulam. They have an 11-year-old son. Hashim drives a private bus called Harishree.

Anuja was returning from an excursion to Thiruvananthapuram with her fellow teachers when Hashim stopped the vehicle and took her by force.

The headmistress said that Hashim blocked their vehicle at Kulakkada in the Kollam district. Anuja refused to accompany him and did not go when Hashim called. Anuja told her co-travellers that he was her paternal uncle’s son.

After getting out of his car, Hashim shouted and tried to force the doors of the vehicle in which the teachers were travelling open. With this, teachers also started to intervene. The headmistress said that fearing trouble, Anuja got out of their traveller. Hashim was inebriated, and police later found several liquor bottles in his rental car.

Hashim drove away, and the headmistress said that Hashim had driven the car rashly. The incident felt strange, and Anuja cried inconsolably when her fellow teachers called her on the phone. Anuja told them she was going to die soon.

Hashim rammed the car into a container lorry coming in the opposite direction. The car was completely wrecked. The fire brigade and the locals had to cut the car apart and pull them out. Kulakkada, from where Anuja was taken to Pattazhimukku, where the accident occurred, is around 10 km.

Shankar, an Enadimangalam gram panchayat member and an eyewitness, came out with more revelations and said he noticed the car before the accident.

“While standing on the temple’s steps, I noticed a car passing by. The passenger side door where the woman was sitting opened three times. It made me feel like the driver was trying to harm her physically.”

Shankar said that he saw Anuja stick her legs out of the door. He suspected that Anuja was trying to protect herself from Hashim’s assault inside the running vehicle.

Shankar revealed that the car swerved to the right side of the road several times and was zigzagging. The son of the lorry driver said that the car hit the lorry due to excessive speed. It is suspected that Anuja and Hashim died instantly on impact.

Victimization started immediately when Hashim’s father, Hakim, said that his son would not commit suicide. Hakim stated that his son has good willpower and is involved and interested in public affairs.

Hashim left home after receiving a phone call last evening. He said he would return soon. Later, he learned that the accident had happened. Hakim said that they do not know Anuja.

Unmarried Hashim groomed Anuja through social media, claiming his name was Vishnu. Both her parents were teachers, and neighbours said the family had impeccable character. It was reported that the relatives knew about the friendship, which led to family problems.

A police investigation is in progress, and they are collecting CCTV footage. Will authorities probe the grooming jihad angle that led to a Hindu lady’s death during Ramadan at the hands of an Islamist? When will Hindu ladies learn from such incidents?