Missing PI makes contact with nephew

(Taken From : Malaysiakini.com)

Private investigator P Balasubramaniam has finally broken his silence and made contact with his nephew R Kumaresan late last night via a short telephone call.


"He said he was okay, but could not talk freely," Kumaresan (left), who stressed this point several times.Balasubramaniam, his wife and three children vanished without a trace last Friday following his retraction of a stunning statutory declaration which implicated Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Kumaresan, who is said to be very close to Balasubramaniam's family, said that he managed to talk to the private eye's wife during the brief exchange, who also said that she was "okay".However, Kumaresan said that he was still unaware of the whereabouts of his uncle and was coy when asked about further details of the conversation.

"When I tried to ask of his whereabouts, he could not answer," said Kumaresan, who did not elaborate despite being pressed on the matter.Kumaresan was speaking to reporters after taking part in a candlelight vigil last night, organised by Hindraf in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

For about 20-minutes, some 40 individuals who took part in the gathering chanted "Where is Bala?", "We want Bala", "IGP, free Bala" and "Najib, don't hide Bala" among other slogans.Demonstration Two PKR MPs - S Manickavasagam and R Sivarasa - were also at the vigil to lend support to the gathering.

Sivarasa, who is also PKR vice-president, said his party was relieved that Balasubramaniam (right) had finally made contact with his family."At least, we know he is alive," he said.Manickavasagam said he holds the police responsible over Balasubramaniam's family and warned that the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) would organise a demonstration if the missing private eye is not found by this weekend.

On July 4, Balasubramaniam affirmed in a sworn statement that his July 1 statutory declaration was false and retracted all allegations made against Najib.The sudden retraction, one day after he had revealed his first statutory declaration, stunned the nation which sparked a nationwide search by the police