Daijiworld Media Network - Sullia (SP)
Sullia, Apr 18: In all possibility, Vedavati (45), who was savagely done to death in broad daylight on Saturday April 16 at Mettinadka Bergudi, Guthigar near Subrahmanya, was raped before being murdered and robbed of her jewellery.
The canine squad, finger print experts and forensic experts had visited Vedavati's home on Saturday night to look for clues. During the verification, there were hints which pointed out to the possibility of the woman having been raped. A thread tied around her waist was severed, and the clothes she wore were clumped and dishevelled. There are other clues too, which have made the team to strongly suspect rape.
The murderers had taken lot of care to escape from getting caught. Two sharp swords and a lighter were found near the body. The sword near the body had blood stains. There are signs of the killers having visited all the rooms of the house and searched for valuables and gold ornaments. After the murder, the killers poured water in all the rooms in a bid to erase marks. They had washed the swords and hands in the tap water of the kitchen as evidenced by blood stains which have appeared in the wall there.
The sniffer dog which picked up scent from near the body of the deceased went round all the rooms, before going around the house and moving till the front gate, signalling that the murderers escaped from the front gate. The fact that the robbers had searched for gold ornaments and taken them away even from secluded spots only close ones would be aware of, has made the police to suspect that known people were involved.
When Dakshina Kannada district superintendent of police, Dr S D Sharanappa, visited the spot, the locals took him to task for the inability of the department in failing to make any headway in several cases of thefts and other crimes like murders, robbery etc which have been occurring regularly within the limits of Subrahmanya police station. It is said that the needle of suspicion is now on a rubber tapping worker who had gone on leave two months back and had come back on Saturday, and a person from Kudruppady on whose recommendation the above worker had secured the job. Both reportedly have gone missing.
The body of Vedavati was shifted to Mangaluru for postmortem. The police have already subjected some people to questioning in the case.