Eleven days after a 30-year-old law student was raped and murdered in Perumbavoor in Kerala, the state police are yet to make its first arrest in the case, despite massive protests over the slow pace of police investigation.
So far police have made multiple (close to 30) detentions without any formal arrests and is yet to establish a motive of the crime. The first two detentions itself were made after five days.
On April 28, the victim, Jisha’s body was found in a pool of blood in her one-room residence by her mother, when the latter reportedly returned home at 8.30 pm.
However, TNIE on Sunday reported the investigating officer in the case had told the Directorate of Medical Education official that Jisha was killed at 9 pm which contradicts the statements made by Jisha’s mother and other family member.
The autopsy report said that the victims’ intestines were ripped out and that she had suffered 30 wounds on her body, including two deep stab wounds on the chest. She is said to have been killed on April 28 between 2pm and 5pm. The police had evidence that the attackers inserted a sharp weapon in her genitals.
On May 3, the Ernakulam Range IG Mahipal Yadav had said that the police expected a breakthrough in the case within two days following state-wide protests on the streets and social media.
On Saturday, it was reported that police were at a lookout for a friend of Jisha’s sister who was on the run.
The latest suspect had similarities to that of the sketch that was released by police last week.
Mathrubhumi reported that so far that the police might not have found the murder weapon yet.
Facts of the case:
Neighbours found similarity in the police drawn sketch of the accused and a friend of Jisha’s sister’s friend. This friend, who is allegedly a drug dealer and was also reportedly involved in women trafficking, is missing since the incident took place.
Special Investigation Team (SIT) retrieved a pair of chappals from the crime scene and it would be sent for footprint analysis.
Neighbours have seen Jisha fetching water from the public pipe around 5 pm on April 28. Police assume that the accused might have hid inside Jisha’s house while she was away. Police also said that murder was planned and not accidental or sudden action.
Police also consider it as a ‘burking’ model murder, that is killing by suffocation, so as to leave the body intact for further harm that can be done to the body. According to police rape and other harm to the body were done after the death.