Jisha rape and murder case: Scientific evidence crucial for cops

Kochi: The Special Investigation Teams which probed the Jisha  murder case relied on scientific evidence for most part of the investigation as there was no eyewitness to  the crime and also the local police had botched up crucial evidence collection in the initial phase. This is one of the rare cases where the cops first nabbed the murderer before they could fix the motive.

Initially, the cops failed to fix the motive with no robbery attempt made and the victim having no enmity with anyone. There was also no solid proof for confirming the rape attempt theory. “What proved to be the key in the probe was the finding that the bloodstains on a pair of slippers found abandoned  near her house were  that of Jisha and  the killer. The saliva collected  from the bite mark on Jisha’s shoulder and the bloodstains detected from the door bolt of the house were that of a single person which helped us close in on the accused later. The concrete remains also made us suspect the involvement of a migrant construction worker,” the police said in a statement.

Though the first Special Investigation Team under ADGP K. Padmakumar recovered the slippers, it was the second team under ADGP B. Sandhya which sent the same for forensic examination and found the bloodstains of both the perpetrator and the victim. “When we questioned the migrant labourers working in the region, we got information that the slippers with the same pattern were  used by an Assam native who was found missing,” sources said.

Meanwhile, the cops completed the mammoth exercise of taking the list of the mobile numbers found in the vicinity of the victim’s house on April 28, the day of crime. “A total of 20 lakh numbers were there in the initial list which was cut down to 100 in the final stage. The accused’s number was one among them. Once we suspected  his involvement, we collected the IMEI number knowing that he will destroy the sim card,” they said. Finally, the accused Ameerul Islam fell into their net when he inserted a new sim card into the old mobile while hiding in Kancheepuram.