India

Kochi Mini Cooper Crash: Mother Calls for Privacy, Extends Condolences

By Vishnu Varma

A week after a 19‑year‑old driver, Suhail Sajeev, crashed a Mini Cooper into a scooter, killing three people near Kochi, his mother, Nooha Sajeev, has asked the public to respect her family’s privacy and has expressed condolences to the victims’ families. Nooha, who runs apparel stores under the brand ‘Iha Designs’ in Kochi and Alappuzha, posted a video on Facebook in which she said, “We have lost three valuable lives. I convey my condolences to their families. I can understand the pain they must be feeling. We raise our children with a lot of hopes and dreams, and when they suddenly leave us, it is unthinkable. My words can never compensate for their grief.” She added that the investigation must proceed in the right direction and that only truth should prevail. She also urged people to stop spreading half‑truths and to give her family privacy, noting that she is a woman and a mother from an ordinary family who is concerned about her son’s future as well as the loss of the three lives. Nooha said she felt “helpless” and could not even sit up in the past few days, and reminded people that she has a family of four with lives to live. This is the first time she has spoken publicly about the fallout of the October 11 crash, in which Suhail was arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Police found that Suhail and his friends were heavily intoxicated at the time of the crash; his blood alcohol concentration was five times the legal limit for driving in India. The crash occurred at about 1:45 a.m. on October 11 when the Mini Cooper struck the rear of a scooter on the road leading to Cochin International Airport near Nedumbassery. The scooter’s occupants, Devika, Gopika and Iyas, all in their early 20s and working at a crafts retail shop, died from their injuries. Three of Suhail’s friends, who were in the car at the time, were booked for abetment. Nooha had gifted the Mini Cooper to Suhail on his birthday earlier that year and had posted the moment on Facebook, saying both her sons were car enthusiasts and that she was happy to give the luxury car to her younger son.