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PU murder: Preliminary report suggests Prof’s wife died of strangulation
Motive still unclear, cops recording statements of relatives and family members of Professor BB Goyal; his wife was found murdered on Diwali morning
Though cops are yet to identify the accused in the murder of Seema Goyal, wife of Panjab University (PU) professor BB Goyal, preliminary post-mortem suggests she was strangulated to death.
In his statement to police, Prof Goyal said that on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, his wife was sleeping in a bedroom of the ground floor while he was in a room on the first floor. Their daughter was not present in the house. On Thursday, around 7:30 in the morning, he received a call on his mobile phone from his milkman, who told him to collect milk packets left at the main gate. When he came down to the ground floor, he was unable to open the main door.
He then went to the gate using the kitchen door and later found that the main door was locked from outside. On entering the house again, he went to his wife’s room, and reportedly found her lying unconscious on the bed, with her hands and legs tied with a cloth. She was rushed to Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, where she was declared brought dead.
Marks on neck, head
A senior official of Chandigarh police, privy to the investigation, said, “There were strangulation marks on the victim’s neck and some injuries on her head. As per preliminary findings, asphyxia was the cause of death but we are waiting for the complete report.”
No sign of forced entry
Senior police officials added that investigations so far do not suggest forced entry, however, they have found the mesh doors of the kitchen and a bedroom in which Seema was found murdered, tampered with. “The investigations do not suggest forced entry but the mesh of two doors were slightly removed, so entry by opening the door bolts cannot be ruled out,” added the senior police official.
Police added that even closed-circuit television cameras in the area have so far been unable to throw up any clues about the accused. Sources said no one has been seen entering or leaving the house in the footage.
Superintendent of police (SP, City) Ketan Bansal said, “Two teams are looking into the CCTV footage gathered from the area. We have also collected the mobile dump data. Statements of family members and relatives are being recorded.”
No trace of victim’s mobile
As per police sources, there is still no trace of the victim’s mobile phone though they have searched the entire house and even used technical surveillance methods.
The couple lived with their daughter in an independent house that shares its rear boundary wall with the vice-chancellor’s official residence, a high-security area on the campus. A case was registered against the unknown assailant under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the police station in Sector 11 on statement of BB Goyal, who was sleeping on the first floor of the house.
