The Swathi murder case was perhaps one of the most challenging cases for the city police in recent times. While visuals of the suspect fleeing the scene of crime (Nungambakkam railway station) captured in surveillance cameras went viral, investigators had no clue about the culprit or the motive for a long while — nearly a week.
Though the initial clues came from electronic evidence, it was good, old-fashioned investigation that finally took police to Ramkumar, a Mechanical Engineer, who was holed up in his village.
While launching an extensive analysis of mobile phones that were active in towers of various service providers covering the crime scene, investigators also commenced conventional policing by conducting a door-to-door search or enquiry in Choolaimedu and Nungambakkam areas. They conducted enquiries with local people, commuters, shopkeepers and others by showing the photograph of the suspect.
“It was this conventional policing that yielded the result. An employee of a private mansion in Choolaimedu recognised the suspect. He said the youth was a resident of the mansion but was missing for the last four or five days. This information was enough to corner the suspect,” a police official said.
Chennai Police Commissioner T.K. Rajendran made an appeal to the public to assist in identifying the suspect and shared the contact numbers of senior police officers.
However, a large number of people who called did not provide any specific information that could lead to the arrest.
Jayalalithaa lauds police
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa called Mr. Rajendran and congratulated him for cracking the case. In a statement, she said the police had solved a challenging case and proved that Tamil Nadu was in forefront when it came to bringing culprits to book.
Infosys welcomes breakthrough
Tech major Infosys, where S. Swathi had been employed, welcomed the breakthrough in the murder case. In a statement, the company said thanked the police and expressed confidence that just would be served.
“It has been a sad week for us at Infosys to lose a dear colleague in a senseless act of violence. We will continue to support the family and request their privacy as they grieve.”
