IMPHAL, April 9: Despite the police headway in solving the murder case of Satyabhama, there are some obvious gaps in the case story investigation as per the version given by DGP, Y Joykumar.
According to the DGP, the two arrested namely Ksh Biju alias Holendro, 28, son of Ibochou of Irilbung bazar and Thoudam Jibon, 27, son of (L) Thoiba of Irilbung Machahal Mayai Leikai were hauled up yesterday.
They were nabbed by tracing the phone call records of the late Satyabhama.
The DGP had said that as per Biju`s confession, he had called out Satyabhama from her home and they came in a Maruti car with the boyfriend Toijam Thesus alias Aboi alias James. The couple had a fight inside the car and later she tried to get down from the vehicle. In the tussle, James allegedly caught hold of Satyabhama`s scarf and this resulted in an accidental death.
This version was rejected by the police sleuths saying that it was a far-fetched one and not very convincing as mentioned by the DGP.
The actual version as said by the DGP was that, post the surrender of Thesus alias James today, it came to be known that Biju who was already in police custody was the one who had murdered Satyabhama. James had revealed this to the police today after surrendering. Later questioning of Biju by the police led to him ultimately owning up the crime. He had confessed that he went to the deceased`s home and took her on his two wheeler in the wee hours of April 3. He tried to molest her twice, and finally murdered her by strangling her with the scarf she wore at a waiting shed. Then, her corpse was loaded on the scooter and finally dumped at Bashikhong Wangkei Loumanbi Loukon.
IFP investigations into the police statement contradicts the version of Biju as narrated by the DGP. It is found unlikely that a young however naive would leave her house past midnight with a friend of James on a two wheeler all by herself. The statement that Biju tried to molest the deceased while driving and then later at a waiting shed cannot hold water given that a person who is driving a two wheeler would not be able to molest someone who is pillion riding. There are inconsistencies in the statement that even after Biju made an advance on Satyabhama, she would still follow him and then tend to her wounds at the waiting shed instead of trying to flee from the place. If Biju had indeed murdered her by himself at the shed, his immediate reaction would be to flee from the scene of crime and not go to the trouble of loading the dead body of a 5 ft 6 inch tall person on his small rodeo scooter and take the risk of carrying the body with a scarf still attached to her neck then drive about 3 kilometres to the
spot where the body was ultimately found.
It may be mentioned that one police official at the press conference today mentioned that Shatyabhama was bundled up like a ‘gas cylinder’ in front of the scooter ,which is hard to imagine.
It is also evident from police statements that Toijam James was the one who told police about the crime committed by his friend Biju but this raises questions over a phone call that he is said to have made to a media house saying that he was not involvement in the case.
It is also unclear why James who is reportedly innocent was taking shelter along with his family at Purum Likli and give himself up rather then helping the police nab Biju by telling the truth earlier. It is also unclear why he would send his friend to Satyabhama`s house on a two wheeler.
These areas contradict the statements allegedly given by the arrested persons and reiterated by the DGP.
