No leads yet, police examine every angle

More than 72 hours after journalist Soumya Vishwanathan's murder, the police are in the dark about the motive, reports Karan Choudhury.

More than 72 hours after journalist Soumya Vishwanathan's murder, the police are in the dark about the motive. They visited the scene of crime on Thursday, and are not ruling out any angle at this stage. Hindustan Times spoke to a senior officer regarding the case.

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Relatives questioned

On Thursday, the police questioned Vishwanathan's sister and brother-in-law for more than two hours. "We are in constant touch with the family and interacting with them about the case. We are looking into the various aspects to get possible leads,” said the officer.

Only one bullet confirmed

As of now, the police are only confirming the firing of one bullet that was found lodged in Vishwanathan's head. “We still do not know whether the assailants fired at her car's tyre. We will wait for the ballistic report to ascertain it,” said the officer.

Car’s speed

An impact assessment test will be done to assess the speed of Vishwanathan's car at the time of the crime. Police also said the blue paint on the car’s panel could have been transferred from a signboard.

Robbery unlikely motive

Vishwanathan’s belongings were found in the car. “However, we cannot rule out robbery completely as the killers might have been novices, who could have panicked and fled after her death,” says the officer.

Hair on the back seat

Police say the hair found on the car’s back seat did not get there due to the impact of the bullet. “Her hair might have been pulled,” says the officer. However, the post-mortem report has not revealed any injury marks other than the bullet wound on the right side of her head. “There were no marks of assault or force on her body, which is quite mysterious,” said the officer.

Security on Nelson Mandela Marg

The policemen posted at Vasant Vihar Priya Complex police picket, just 300m away from the scene of crime, are being questioned. Another picket will now be set up on this stretch of Nelson Mandela Marg.