The Mumbai police are finding it tough to crack the Esther Anuhya murder case. It, however, has had some positive effect on the force, as it brought together two arch rivals—Mumbai Crime Branch (CB) and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Ever since its inception in 2005, officials of the ATS and the Crime Branch have been at loggerheads, often indulging in games of one-upmanship.
Things changed for the good on Friday, when a CB team headed by DCP Satyanarayan Chaudhary went to the ATS office seeking technical expertise. The ATS reportedly has superior technology to scientifically analyse mobile phone call records and data usage.
Mumbai police, which has been investigating the case for close to two months, is now exploring all angles once again. Rakesh Maria, the new CP, has ordered the police to solve the case expeditiously.
"The police is now scrutinising the call records of Esther and all the mobile phones that were functional at the time Esther went missing," said an officer.
According to sources, the CB and the ATS, working together is an indication of how serious the police are about the case. "This has been possible because Maria was the ATS head before, and the ATS chief, Roy, has headed the CB for four years," said a police officer.
The two elite units coming together augurs well for the future of policing in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Prior to this, there always was an unhealthy competition between the two.
A challenging task for cops
On January 5, Esther Anuhya, a 23-year-old software techie, went missing from the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Kurla. After spending Christmas and New Year with her family in Andhra Pradesh, Esther was returning to Mumbai, where she was working with the Tata Consultancy Services. However, after reaching LTT, Esther went missing. On January 16, her decomposed body was found dumped in the mangroves near the Eastern Express Highway in Kanjurmarg.
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