A security guard arrested in connection with the murder of Kerala software engineer Rasila Raju OP at the office of Infosys in Hinjawadi, Pune has confessed to the crime, said an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
According to the ACP, the security guard named Bhaben Saikia, a 26-year-old native of Assam, was arrested at VT station in Mumbai, from where he was attempting to escape to Assam.
The ACP said that Rasila Raju was working on a 2pm to 11pm shift, and was alone in a room in the Pune office, while she was working with other colleagues stationed in Bengaluru. Sakaal Times reported that the incident came to light after an engineer from Bengaluru informed Rasila Raju’s team leader at around 6.20pm that she had not been working for an hour and was not responding to calls. After the team leader was also unable to reach her on the phone, the security staff were alerted, and eventually entered the room to find her dead. Rasila had allegedly been strangulated with a computer wire.
The ACP said that according to the confession, the security guard had entered the room and was staring at her. Rasila Raju took offence to this and asked him not to do so. The guard denied that he had been staring at her, at which point, she threatened to complain to the authorities against him. The guard asked her not to complain against him, and an argument ensued, in the course of which the guard allegedly murdered her.
He added that the police were now trying to build a clear chain of evidence to make the case against him in court. According to reports, the police have formed a special investigative team to collect substantial evidence, as they are concerned that a confession alone may not hold up in court.
Speaking to the media in Kozhikode, Rasila Raju’s maternal uncle said that the family was immediately travelling to Pune, where they would remain until justice was done. "Relatives are going to Mumbai today itself. We have requested that the post-mortem be completed only after we reach there. We need a proper enquiry. We will be in Pune until we get justice," he said.
He added that Rasila Raju’s father is a retired army man, now working as a home guard in the Kunnamkulam police station. Her aged grandparents also lived at the Kerala house with her father. Her mother had passed away due to cancer a few years ago.
Rasila Raju had studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya, and obtained her engineering degree from Tamil Nadu. She had been placed in Infosys two years ago, and had been working in Bengaluru until six months ago, when she transferred to Pune.