The special investigation team (SIT) of Ernakulam rural police probing the murder of the 29-year-old Dalit woman from Perumbavur on Tuesday, took into custody three suspects, including a neighbour of the victim.
While the first two suspects were taken into custody by 12 noon, the third reportedly landed in police custody from Kannur. Action was taken against them on the basis of eyewitness statements and by tracking the call details on the victim’s phone. The police have identified an eyewitness who claimed to have seen a person coming out of the victim’s house on April 28, the day of the murder.
Top officials monitoring the investigation ruled out the possibility of gang rape and maintained all along the day that the murder was committed by one person.
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“The murder was committed by a single person and we have taken into custody several suspects at various locations. More details are being gathered and the arrest will be carried out within two days,” said Mahipal Yadav, Inspector General of Police, Ernakulam Range.
Those taken into custody were suspects and more details would have to be collected before zeroing in on the culprit.
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K. Padmakumar, Additional Director General of Police, who inspected the crime scene — a shanty on the purambok land at Vattolippady near Perumbavur — reiterated that the woman was not gang raped, as suggested by some media reports.
“Clear evidence pointing to the culprit has been received. We have zeroed in on the murderer and he will be nabbed at the earliest,” he told media persons.
Sketch prepared
The police have prepared a sketch of the accused, based on the description given by an eyewitness, who reportedly saw a person moving around the area under suspicious circumstances soon after the crime took place.