One person was detained on Sunday night by the Mumbai Police in connection with the murder of the 23-year-old software engineer whose semi-decomposed body was found off the Eastern Express Highway in Mumbai on January 16th.
The person whose identity has not been disclosed yet is considered to be a history-sheeter and a resident of Nashik in Maharashtra.
In December last year, the victim who hailed from Machilipatnam in Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh had gone to her hometown to celebrate Christmas with her family. She took a train back to Mumbai on January 4th but went missing on January 5th morning.
The CCTV footage procured by the police showed that at 4.55 am on 5th morning, the victim was seen alighting on platform number 3 of the Lokmanaya Tilak Terminus. Minutes later at 5.11 am she is seen between platform number 4 and 5. At this spot she meets the suspect who is later seen wheeling her trolley bag for around 15 feet. All along, the victim is talking to someone on a mobile phone while the other person is carrying her bag and both are moving towards the exit gate.
This person seen in the footage who has been detained is seen wearing a white collared half-sleeves T-shirt and blue denim. He is between 38 to 42 years of age, well built, bald and has a moustache.
Sources claim that the CCTV footage released by the police help them track him. "The suspect was a frequent visitor to LTT and is a history-sheeter. Through informers we were able to crack the case," sources told The Hindu .
"They told us that the suspect had befriended a couple of railway employees," added sources.
Though the police claim that they have cracked the case, some details needs to be ironed out.
"There are many unaswered questions - Whose mobile phone was the victim using minutes before her murder? How did he convince the victim to come with him when she was told be her parents not to leave the secluded railway station until sunrise?" added sources.
Sources said that the accused might have gained her confidence on the pretext of helping her to get an autorickshaw and taken her to Eastern Express highway. He might have attempted to sexually assualted her and when she resisted, and killed her, sources said.A Special Investigation Team was formed to investigate the case after the family demanded a probe by the Mumbai Crime Branch. Initially the case was registered with the Government Railway Police (GRP).The new police chief, Rakesh Maria is likely to speak on the case.
“He has been brought to Mumbai on Monday and his identity is being ascertained,” added sources.
