For many, S. Swathi is the girl who was brutally murdered inside Nungambakkam railway station. But to 24-year-old Mohammed Bilal Siddique and her friends, she was a happy, strong and confident woman who knew to face life with courage.
“The accused is a coward. Had he attacked her from the front, Swathi would have handled the situation,” says Siddique speaking to The Hindu. He recalls Swathi telling him about the stalker. “She had told me about a guy who had been following her for nearly two months in the evenings. Once he trailed her to office and kept looking into her compartment to check if she was there,” he recalls.
The youngster, like all other Swathi’s friends, was shattered after the incident. “She used to tell me every detail of her life. After this incident, my relatives advised me to channelise my grief to identify the suspect,” he explains. Siidique’s information about the route which Swathi used to take matched with that of the police and it proved vital to crack the case. “On June 24, I called her and the call was cut after the first ring,” he says.
Police say that it was this call that helped track the tower location of Swathi’s phone. Siddique feels that a woman should have complete freedom and it should never be restricted. “But, the punishment for those who commit such crime against women should be a deterrent for others,” he adds.
