Sixth day: Focus on victim’s high profile friends

Even as Delhi Police remained clueless about the gruesome murder of 20-year-old Shobhit Modi, officers investigating the case are taking their time and treading cautiously.

Even as Delhi Police remained clueless about the gruesome murder of 20-year-old Shobhit Modi, officers investigating the case are taking their time and treading cautiously.

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The reason is their resolve, which has ended-up protracting investigations, to ensure that the questioning of the high profile juvenile suspects in the case is conducted in what they term as ‘conducive environment’.

“Since the beginning of our investigations into the case, we have been mindful of the fact that intelligence inputs received from his friends are of immense value. So, we have ensured that they be questioned in a calm, controlled environment,” said a senior police officer from the investigation team.

The police said they were questioning the juvenile suspects at their own homes and in the presence of their parents to ensure that they were amenable to providing the vital clues which investigators are in dire need of procuring in order to plug the missing links in what has now become, more or less, a blind murder case.

As investigations into the second-year IT engineering student’s killing — in which at least 40 juveniles have been questioned till date — entered the sixth day, even the involvement of the Delhi Police’s elite Crime Branch didn’t amount to much.

“We are investigating the case from all possible angles and the questioning of his friends has given us some definite leads which are being pursued,” said Chhaya Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south).

So far, at least eight specialised teams of Delhi Police have reconstructed the scene of the crime several times, questioned as many as 200 suspects — including the murdered Vasant Kunj resident’s friends and acquaintances as well as local criminals. The police have been able to ascertain the events leading up to Shobhit’s trip to the nearby DLF Promenade Mall on the fateful day.

Meanwhile, the specially-constituted police teams have already questioned the entire fleet of TSRs operating in the area to ascertain whether Shobhit used one of their services or whether they had seen him board or de-board a TSR prior to his murder.

“We are questioning his friends and acquaintances in the presence of their guardians. In the case of female suspects, the questioning is being carried-out by a female officer. We hope to make a break-through in the case as soon as possible,” said Amulya Patnaik, JCP (southern range).