900 fingerprint samples, 85 witnesses: Surat cops probe charging cable murder

Around 3:30 am on August 24, a farmer from a village in Surat district and his wife returned home from a pilgrimage and found the body of their youngest daughter, 25, on the terrace of their house with her hands tied and head covered in a polythene bag bound at the neck with a mobile charging cable.

A week later, the Surat Rural Police still have no solid leads in the case – except that a couple was “questioned on suspicion”. By Monday, the police collected 900 fingerprint samples, trying to match them with prints found around the house with those of villagers, but in vain.

The village sarpanch has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone – underlining that their identity would be concealed – who provides leads on the accused. The farmer last spoke to his daughter around 9:30 pm on August 23, asking her to keep the doors and windows closed and her mobile phone ringer on.

On August 21, he and his wife left on a pilgrimage and returned in the early hours on August 24. They rang the doorbell repeatedly. but got no response. The door was locked from inside and their daughter was not answering her phone. She had been alone the whole of August 23, after her aunt, who visited on August 22 with her husband and 24-year-old son, from Surat, left.