The eight-day old murder of 24-year old Swathi in centrally-located Nungambakkam railway station has triggered Chennai’s biggest manhunt. With no new leads in the case, the 100-odd policemen assigned to the investigation in different locations are desperately sifting through several pieces of CCTV footage from various sources, and questioning hundreds of people.
Choolaimedu, chock-a-block with shops and houses and abutting the station, is the focus of the search. The man who murdered Swathi escaped into this labyrinth. Police are going literally door-to-door here, asking questions. Other teams are at Paranur, the railway station 40 km to the south, near Swathi’s Infosys offices. Personnel have been making inquiries at her office for days now.
City Police Commissioner T.K. Rajendran formed a special team headed by an Additional Commissioner, and comprising a Joint Commissioner, several senior officers and Inspectors. There are now 10 teams with about 10 members each and progress is reviewed daily by the top city police brass.
In Choolaimedu the men display a small photo of the suspect to residents, hoping to unearth a credible witness. “They start work early in the morning and continue till afternoon. After a small break they resume the search,” said an employee of a bank in Choolaimedu.
The Crime Branch CID is giving technical support, while Railway Police is participating, informally. There has been intensive questioning of the victim’s colleagues and friends. About 100 pieces of CCTV footage are being viewed, and details of thousands of phone calls made in the region before and after the crime are being analysed.
A senior police officer said, “Policemen have expanded the search to neighbouring areas of Nungambakkam and Kodambakkam. Phone information and CCTV footage from houses, hotels, banks and commercial establishments are being studied,” he said.
