Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP/RJP)
Kundapur, Dec 2: The police have been actively pursuing the issue of identifying the woman, whose decomposed body was found on the bank of River Sita at Halniru within Belve gram panchayat limits in the taluk on Monday, November 30. With the progress of investigation, the theory that this body might be belonging to a woman from Nachchur near Japti in the taluk is getting more and more credence.
By Wednesday December 2 morning, investigations lent strength to the suspicion that the body belonged to a woman named Usha (30) from Nachchur. Usha, who was working for a cashew factory at Goliyangady near Belve, had gone missing since some days. Calls made to her cell phone have been getting 'switched off' messages to callers. As no other woman from the region has been reported missing in the recent past, the belief that these mortal remains may be of Usha is gaining increased acceptance, said reliable sources.
The police, after getting clue that the body might be that of Usha, went to her house on Tuesday evening and pooled information about the incident. Usha's mother told the police personnel that her daughter had neither returned home nor talked over the cell phone since November 23. She added that normally her daughter used to call her over phone when she had to go out of station. Usha was married but her husband had left her. When her two children lived with her mother, Usha visited her house once a week. Otherwise she stayed at the cashew factory she worked in. She had not reported to work after she went home for Deepavali, said the factory owner. Her mother said when Usha did not return home after November 23, the family thought that she had gone back to the factory and was working there.
Police have considered missing cases reported from Amasebail, Shankaranarayana, Hebri, Ajekar Nenjaru and other places. But now there are rumours that the body most probably was that of Usha. Usha's family is expected to identify the clothes of the dead woman.
In the meanwhile, the police are conducting investigation from murder angle. Police have also taken some persons into custody for further investigations, sources said. The case is being probed from suicide angle also. But till now no clue has been found to that effect.
Local deputy superintendent of police, M Manjunath Shetty, and circle inspector, Diwakar P M, have been guiding Shankaranarayana police in the investigation.