The man accused of murdering an 18-year-old girl in Faridabad had spoken to her on the phone for hours in the days that preceded the crime, investigators have said. “We are trying to find out why the phone calls were made,” one of the investigators said. The girl had gone missing on her way to tuition classes and was found murdered in a guesthouse hours later. Her death had sparked large protests on National Highway 5 on Friday.

Sonu, the 30-year-old scrap dealer arrested for his alleged involvement in the crime, was remanded in police custody for two days on Saturday. “He was drunk when we caught him,” the investigator said.

“The girl did not want to marry the accused, something that he was evidently keen on,” the investigator added. The investigators are hoping that Sonu will divulge key details of the incident in the two days.

The girl’s family members said they had known over a year ago that the accused had been stalking her.

“We had spoken to Sonu’s parents a year ago when we came to know that he was stalking her,” a family member said.The family, however, did not inform the police. “We were assured by his parents that he would not trouble us more,” the family member said.

More people could have been involved in the ghastly incident, the family members felt.

The girl’s post-mortem report showed that several wounds had caused her death. “This, however, does not mention if she had been raped,” an officer said.