Chennai police releases high-res image of the main suspect in Swathi's murder

On Thursday, the Chennai police released a high-resolution image of the main suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Swathi Santhanagopalakrishnan who was hacked to death at the Nungambakkam railway station. The police released a ‘file photo’ of the man, saying it had been ‘developed’ by them. The photo shows a man wearing blue shirt and black trousers, similar to what was seen in the CCTV footage released by the police on Sunday. Based on the report submitted by a Hyderabad-based forensic firm on the CCTV footage, the assailant is aged between 25-30. According to  The Indian Express, the investigators claim that the assailant is lean and “semi-dark and brown-skinned”, and a little over five-feet-tall.

Chennai techie murder: Railway police releases fresh CCTV footage, suspect seen walking near railway stationhttps://t.co/kHjvXCjGPr

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The 25-member team investigating the case, questioned more than a hundred people and shortlisted about 20 as probable suspects. According to The Hindu report, a lot of mobile phones that were active in the area came under the scanner in the attempt to zero in on the culprit. The police is also investigating Swathi’s call details and text messages and short-listing ‘suspecting’ mobile phones that were active hours before the murder took place at the railway station. The police recorded the statements of friends and family who claimed that Swathi had complained of “a person following her all the way from the railway station.” Some of the fellow passengers also reported seeing a person, matching the man described in the CCTV analysis, regularly visiting the window of the ladies compartment of the train to see her. The Madras High Court had come down on the state government, warning it of suo motu intervention if there was any slackness in the probe. The probe, originally done by the Government Railway Police, was later shifted to the city police who have now formed eight special teams to crack the murder. The weapon believed to have been used in the murder, a sickle, had been recovered last week from the railway track near the station premises, police added. Swathi, employed with IT major Infosys, was allegedly killed by an unidentified man on a platform while she was waiting to board a train on her way to office around 6.30 am. Her murder prompted a furore by the civil society and political parties. With inputs from PTI