The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Scene of crime can be deceptive Law And order

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 12, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Scene of crime can be deceptive Law And order

The absence of struggle marks in young Usha’s death have only deepened the mystery, writes Marri Ramu

The naked body of a young woman was found lying in the sump of a vehicle servicing centre at Uppal. Her innerwear and ‘kurta’ were found on the roadside, some 50 feet away.

On seeing this ‘crime’ scene on the morning of October 25 last, everybody - from the police and to the general public - raised suspicions of the victim being sexually assaulted before being murdered. But what was thought to be a ‘rap e and murder’ case turned out to be a case of suspicious death as the findings of the autopsy were different.

There were no injuries - not even scratches - on the body. Forensic doctors reportedly opined the cause of death as drowning. The sexual assault angle was ruled out. No struggle marks were found at or near the water sump indicating any foul play. All these points deepened the mystery behind 21-year-old Usha’s death.

Hailing from Warangal district, she had come to the city along with her mother Padma on October 24. After getting off the bus at Uppal bus-stop around 4.30 p.m., Usha went missing. After searching for her, her mother alerted her relatives, who advised her to approach the police the next day.

Even as Ms. Padma lodged the complaint, the police got the information of an unidentified body lying in the sump. She was identified as the missing woman later. If there was no sexual assault or such attempt, how would one explain the naked condition of the corpse?

With drowning being identified as the cause of death, there are different possibilities. She might have accidentally slipped into the sump, committed suicide by jumping into the sump or somebody could have even drowned her.

Police puzzled

All that the police could find while reconstructing the sequence of events was that a building watchman Kishtaiah spotted her on roadside near a saw mill around 11.30 p.m. His statement that the victim was clad in ‘kurta’ when he saw her only further puzzled the police.

What had happened from 4.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. and afterwards on that day? Was somebody stalking the woman when the watchman spotted her? The investigators are unable to find answers to these and several other questions.

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