The probe into the murder and alleged rape of a Dalit woman in Perumbavoor has received a shot in the arm, with investigators successfully developing DNA samples of the suspected assailant.
According to officials, the DNA profiling was carried out on the saliva stain recovered from the victim’s dress. The police later sent the samples to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in Thiruvananthapuram.
“The fact that the police succeeded in recovering such minute samples itself dispels stories of laxity on their part. Had it not been for the policemen who handled it carefully, we would not have been able to obtain this vital lead,” Additional Director General of Police (South Zone) K. Padmakumar told The Hindu .
The police have now begun the process of comparing the DNA samples with those of the suspects taken into custody.
Media reports deniedMeanwhile, officials played down a report carried by a daily, claiming that the police had nabbed the culprit, who was identified as a migrant worker from West Bengal. They said the police had never made any such claims and clarified that the person, who was named in the report, was just among several suspects in the case.
On reports that the police are after a migrant worker, they said the angle could not be discounted since the crime occurred in a place which was known as the hub of inter-State migrants.
