CHENNAI: It has been two-and-half years since 72-year-old Sharadha was found dead with her throat slit in her apartment on Pantheon Road in Egmore, but the police are yet to trace the suspect(s) and find the motive for the murder. This, despite CCTV cameras, installed in both the entrances of the building.
The murder came to light on the night of March 3, 2016 when Sharadha’s niece Dhanya returned to the flat, located in the third floor of the nine-storey building, Ram Mansion. Sharadha was found dead in the main hall.
A cell phone and a pair of earring weighing four grams were stolen from the house. Initial investigation suggested that taking away of the valuables did not seem to be the main intention of the killer. But for two years now, there has been no progress in investigation. “We have interrogated more than 200 persons residing in the building and family members,” said a police officer. The building has around 40 commercial offices and 12 residential flats. “Everyone was interrogated in three months,” the officer added.
“We even traced the mobile network and narrowed down to 60 persons,” the officer said.
Dhanya, then a postgraduate student in psychology in a private college, had told police that she visited the house for lunch and later left for a college project work. She had told police that she spoke over phone to Sharadha around 8.30 pm. The family hails from Thrissur in Kerala.
Recently, a special team of police from Egmore went to Dandupalya, a village in the taluk of Hoskote in Karnataka suspecting a serial-killer gang from the village, which was notorious in late 90s and allegedly killed most of targets by slitting their throats. But, there was no progress since investigators did not find anyone suspicious.
Another officer said the initial investigation in the first three months was not properly conducted by an officer who was then supervising the probe.