The police investigating the murder of 48-year-old homemaker Manju Devi of Kalathiappa Street, Choolai are examining visuals obtained from closed circuit television (CCTV) footage of a man walking into the victim’s apartment complex around the time of the murder on Friday evening. Manju was found murdered in the kitchen by her daughter, Pooja, and a huge quantity of jewellery and cash was stolen.
The CCTV grab images obtained by police from one of the two CCTV cameras installed outside a primary school opposite the woman’s apartment complex show a man clad in a blue or purple shirt. Police sources said they strongly suspect that this may have been the assailant.
The sources added the man was seen walking into the residence after arriving on a scooter.
“The assailant seems to be known to the victim. He had easy access into the house and is also aware of light switches in her flat. Interestingly, he took away all the gold and diamond jewellery, but has left behind all the imitation jewellery,” a police officer said.
Further, the suspect had known the exact location of the safe containing the jewels in the overhead compartment in the bedroom, the officer said, indicating that the robbery could have been to divert the attention of the investigating policemen.
Police sources identified the man in the CCTV visuals as a close acquaintance of the victim.
However, they declined to divulge any information about the suspect. “We are examining all angles in order to pin down the killer and unearth the motive behind the murder. The case will be cracked in a day,” the officer added.
