Mumbai techie murder: Cops still groping in the dark for clues

Mumbai: Investigations into the murder of a 23-year-old woman software professional from Andhra Pradesh in Mumbai have so far yielded no concrete leads despite sustained grilling by police of several people, particularly auto rickshaw and taxi drivers. Many drivers have come under scanner of local police, Crime branch and GRP as they suspect that the victim could have hired a vehicle to reach to her hostel in suburban Andheri before she went missing, a senior police official said.  "She alighted the train at LTT railway station at about 5 am. Then she might have either taken an auto rickshaw or a taxi. We have questioned several people but in vain," he added. Police has activated network of their informants suspecting that culprits might have gone underground. “A bed sheet with blood stains was found near the spot where her body was discovered in Kanjurmarg,” the officer said. The victim’s body was found off the Eastern Express Highway in suburban Kanjurmarg on January 16. She was a native of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, various Telugu associations from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai today held a demonstration at south Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, demanding personal intervention of state Home Minister R R Patil into the matter and ensuring arrest of the accused at the earliest. “The accused are still roaming free. This is making us to question the efficiency of Maharashtra police. The culprits should be tracked down at the earliest. I demand Home Minister R R Patil to personally look into the case,” said the victim’s uncle B S Arun Kumar, who participated in the protest. Employed with a reputed software company here, the victim went missing from the city on January 4, until her body was discovered. PTI