HYDERABAD: A day after Abdullapurmet tahsildar Vijaya Reddy was burned to death in her office, the police investigating the case faced a tough task as the CCTV cameras in the office, which could have provided vital information, were not working.
The cops are now getting in touch with those who were in the office on Monday afternoon, to piece together details of how and when exactly the crime was committed.
But this is a cumbersome task as there is no record of visitors at the office, an official probing the case revealed.
However, while collecting samples from the spot, the police came across a wall clock that has now become vital in establishing the time of the attack.
The clock, from the waiting hall outside the tahsildar’s chamber, had stopped at 1.55 pm.
It is learnt that as Vijaya Reddy, engulfed in flames, rushed out for help, the window curtains in the waiting hall also caught fire, and the flames spread up to the clock, causing it to stop working.
Officials say the attack occurred around 1.45 pm.
The clues teams also found Vijaya Reddy’s partially-burnt seat cover, a towel wrapped over her chain, traces of the burnt towel on the chair, residue of a plastic container, and a matchbox at the spot.
It was found that the accused, Suresh, carried a two-litre oil can filled with kerosene, which he emptied on her and set her ablaze.
The tahsildar’s approximately 10-sq-ft chamber had several files.
The large quantity of paper and cloth curtains aggravated the fire in her chamber. It is suspected that the kerosene caused an enormous amount of smoke to fill the chamber.
Due to the smoke, she suffocated and died immediately.
Though she was engulfed in flames, inhaling the smoke led to supply of carboxyhemoglobin to her body, leading to death much faster than due to the burns, experts said, adding that the tahsildar may have been able to save herself had she rushed to the nearby washroom and doused herself in water.