Probe strengthens link between gay sex, killings
Special Investigation Team Believed Case Was Cracked With Detention Of Suspect, But Latest Murder Proved Them Wrong S Ahmed Ali & Mateen Hafeez | TNN Mumbai: The Special Investigating Team (SIT) is becoming more convinced that the clues in the seven recent murders being investigated point to a serial killer on the loose and that most of the victims were involved in homosexual activity before being killed. For some time on Wednesday, the SIT thought they had cracked the case after they nabbed a suspect. But the discovery of the seventh body on Thursday shattered this belief. Sources said that on Tuesday night the SIT had picked up a suspect in his 30s while he was loitering near the Churchgate area in a suspicious manner.
From his appearance and interrogation, the police believed he was behind the
series of mysterious killings. "Our joy was shortlived as another body was found on the foot-overbridge. We have ruled out the possibility of this person's involvement,'' said a senior officer on condition of anonymity. When asked if they had any concrete leads, a top officer said, "There is no progress since we are getting clues on a daily basis. We cannot say when we will crack the case.'' The body of the latest victim was found on the Marine Lines foot-overbridge on Thursday. The post-mortem report has revealed passive homosexual activity. TOI had reported on Friday that there was a homosexual angle to the crimes. The report had also stated that most of the victims had sex prior to being murdered. Confirming this, joint commissioner of police (law and order) Arup Patnaik said, "The post-mortem report says that the man found murdered on Thursday was a passive homosexual. Our men are exploring the homosexuality angle. Two bodies were found in a highly decomposed state and, therefore, we could not get a clear report of whether they were passive homosexuals too.'' The latest murder has given the police a small clue—the killer's footprints soaked in blood on the foot-overbridge. The 35-year-old, well-built victim had mutliple stab wounds on his chest, right hand, wrist, arms and even on thethighs. "The deceased must have put up a fight, but he was overpowered by the killer,'' Patnaik added. When asked if the police were still treating all the cases as separate incidents or probing them as the handiwork of a serial killer, Patnaik said, "We presume it is a serial killing.'' All the 80 police personnel who are part of the SIT were called to the police headquarters on Friday afternoon for fresh instructions. Sources said some of these men would possibly move around in disguise and even infiltrate groups of pavement dwellers. The police have compiled a list of missing persons and are trying to check if any of them are among the deceased. However, none of the missing persons' photos have matched with those of the victims. KILLER ON THE LOOSE: The foot-overbridge where the body of the latest victim was found -- www.gaybombay.in www.gaybombay.info
