Attempts by the police to identify a man who was suspected of murdering transgender woman Shalu are yet to bear fruit despite a wide circulation of CCTV footage on social media in which he was caught walking close to the crime spot.
The police, however, said they were still hopeful of identifying the suspect using the six-second footage.
Though the investigating team interrogated a number of persons who were caught on camera at different locations near the crime scene, they were all found to have no involvement in the crime. Even the purpose of visits by a few suspected persons to the city on the day of the murder was verified multiple times to zero in on the prime suspect. It was on April 1 that the body of the 35-year-old transgender woman, hailing from Kannur district, was found along UKS Road in the city.
In the post-mortem report, it was confirmed that she was strangled to death. Though the police soon took a few suspects into custody, they were all released in the absence of incriminating evidence.
Cicily George, a transgender activist, said she had taken up the issue with a number of human rights organisations, apart from approaching police higher-ups and government authorities.
“We don’t believe that the police are not serious about the investigation, but they have to prove their mettle in this case. It is almost three months since the incident occurred,” she added.
According to George, the police are yet to confirm whether the man caught on the CCTV camera is a migrant labourer or local. “The police also suspect that the man is involved in taking away the hand bag of the victim after endangering her. If the police are investing more time on the case, they can definitely nab the criminal,” she said.
Meanwhile, a Circle Inspector who heads the probe said the police had already quizzed several persons having similarity with the man who was caught on camera. He added that the squad under him would continue the exercise. He also claimed that all his squad members were keen on following up the case.
