Missing head impedes probe

Residents concerned about rising crime in the locality

Missing head impedes probe

Residents concerned about rising crime in the locality

Even 24 hours after police found chopped parts of a woman's body in a gutter at Vasant Vihar, the identity of the victim remains a mystery. The unidentified body has already been sent for post-mortem and a case would be registered.

Puzzle: Parts of the victim's body were fished from a gutter in south
Delhi. File pic

Police is still searching for the missing head, which appears to be the only possible way for identification right now. Since, there have been no complaints regarding a missing person at Vasant Vihar police station, cops suspect that the victim could be from a different locality. Therefore, police are also checking missing persons' records from all of Delhi/National Capital Region (NCR).

"There has been no progress in the process of identification of the female whose body parts were found in the gutter. The head is still missing and if we can find it, it should be easier for us to identify the girl. We are following the standing order for a murder in case when the identity of the deceased is unknown in this case," said a senior police official.

"We have asked for missing persons records from different police stations located across Delhi/NCR to see if we could identify the body parts to a missing person. We are still investigating the matter. Since, the female has not been identified it is very difficult to say anything else about this case," he added. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Chhaya Sharma said, "There has been no development related to the identification of the female. However, details of missing women to match the description are being taken into consideration."

Locals, meanwhile, are concerned. RP Singh, who owns a shop in this locality, said: "The police should be more proactive. Body parts, just 200 metres away from the police station shows the effectiveness of police in the area. Now, I am even more scared when I return home in night fearing that I could be the next victim."

South not safe?
Another resident of Vasant Vihar, Vicky feels south Delhi is slowly turning into a crime hub. "South Delhi is supposed to be a secure place. But now I feel people are more afraid living here as compared to other localities in the city. Be it the number of rape cases in Dhaula Kuan or murders in Vasant Kunj and Vasant Vihar, it is a worrying thing that people in south Delhi are no longer safe," he said.

"Police is nowhere to be seen in this area. At night, you will not find any cops at Nelson Mandela Marg even though the police station is located a few metres away. I thought the police must have learnt a lesson when Soumya Viswanathan was shot dead. But this incident shows how good the police is," said Anil Sood, President, Chetna (NGO) which is a Society for protection of culture, heritage, environment, traditions and promotion of national awareness.