No arrests yet, but the police have ‘some clues’
More than one person apparently involved in the crime, says ADG Sutapa Sanyal
LUCKNOW: The Mohanlalganj sexual assault and murder case made the state government swing into action early on Friday morning. Though the police did not have any arrests to their credit by the end of the day, a senior officer said the cops did have some clues in the case. The brutality with which the crime was perpetrated was being equated with the December 16, 2012 Delhi rape case, sparking political activity, protests and demonstrations in the state capital throughout Friday. The All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), the All-India Progressive Women’s Association, the Communist Party of India (ML) were the ones which held protests and demonstrations.
Governor Aziz Qureshi also sought a report from the state government on the incident and progresses in investigations.
By the evening, the preliminary rape theory seemed to have also crumbled and got replaced by some ‘hate story’, pointing to some person/s -- known to the victim -behind the brutally executed crime.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav began his day on “a worried note” and held a hurriedly called meeting with chief secretary, DGP and Sanyal. Akhilesh asked additional director general of police Sutapa Sanyal to crack the case and directed chief secretary Alok Ranjan and home secretary Kamal Saxena to extend all possible support to her team.
Within minutes of the meeting, both the chief minister and chief secretary’s official twitter accounts did multiple tweets on the directions they issued. A BJP delegation that had a pre-scheduled meeting with the chief minister on recent Kanth (Moradabad) clashes, also raised the Mohanlalganj case.
Sanyal reached the crime spot around 12.45 pm. Significantly, by that time the blood stains on the spot had been washed away in the overnight rains as nothing was done to ‘protect’ the crime scene. Sanyal, however, said police had collected all necessary evidence. She spent nearly an hour at the primary school in the village Balsinghkheda where the body was found on Thursday.
LOOKING AT THE SENSITIVITY OF THE CASE, A PANEL OF SIX DOCTORS AND ONE FORENSIC SCIENCE EXPERT HAS BEEN CONSTITUTED. POLICE HAVE EXTENSIVELY PHOTOGRAPHED AND VIDEOGRAPHED THE CRIME SCENE ALREADY. SUTAPA SANYAL, additional director general of police
At 5.30 in the evening, Sanyal accompanied by other senior officers, addressed a press conference. She began by saying: “The victim has been identified. It appears there were more than one person involved in the crime.”
“Looking at the sensitivity of the case, a panel of six doctors and one forensic science expert has been constituted. Police have extensively photographed and videographed the crime scene already. All forensic samples have also been collected,” she said.
On several occasions during the press conference, Sutapa said she would not reveal any information that may benefit the perpetrator. “The focus is on catching the criminals and getting justice to the deceased,” she emphasised.
Sanyal also is leading the probe and is the nodal officer for crime against women in Uttar Pradesh. When asked if the case could be considered blind, Sanyal said: “We have clues, that is why we have the confidence (that we would get a breakthrough). We will tell you all appropriate things at an appropriate time. May be tomorrow.”
“The post mortem report indicates the time of death as ‘one day (before autopsy)’, cause of death as ‘shock due to multiple anti-mortem injuries’. There are 12 injuries on the body -contusions, no stab wounds and one lacerated wound in the pelvic cavity,” Sanyal said, quoting the report. Four teams - two each under the SP (Rural Area) and the SP (Crime) - are simultaneously working to solve the case.
Meanwhile, the woman’s body was cremated at the electric crematorium on Friday