Kurar police prepare sketch of accused, clueless about murder motive.
Manish K Pathak
A 23-year-old woman was stabbed to death by an unidentified man on a busy street near her Malad (East) house on Friday morning, but not even one person tried to catch the accused.
The police are questioning local shopkeepers and neighbours to get leads on the identity of the accused and are preparing a sketch based on witnesses’ description.
“We are yet to ascertain the motive for the murder. We suspect that it could be a case of one sided love affair, but are also investigating other possibilities," said senior police inspector, Subhash Daphale of the Kurar police station
"At 9am, Seema Parab left her home at Pragati Nagar in Kokanipada at Kurar for work. She had barely crossed the road and walked 200m when a man, brandishing a knife and a chopper, stopped her," said Daphale.
"The man flung the chopper in air to scare the people away and at the same time stabbed the girl with the knife - twice in her stomach, once in her neck and once on her shoulder. Even before the passersby could react, he fled. No one even tried to catch him."
Hearing her screaming, Javed Shaikh, who lives in the neighbourhood, rushed her to the nearby SK Patil Hospital in an autorickshaw and called the police.
"As the victim was in a serious condition, she was shifted to the ICU at Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli. But, she died during the treatment at 11am," said another police officer, requesting anonymity.
Parab was employed as a receptionist at a beauty parlour in Borivli (East) for the last one year. She is survived by her parents and four sisters. Her father, Ankush, 60, is a watchman.
Niraj Gupta, who runs a paan shop near the crime scene, said: "I was attending to a customer when I heard the girl scream. She lay on the road, bloodied, crying for help. I did not see the culprit's face, but only the back of his head as he escaped."
"We have taken the statement of several witnesses, but no one knows the accused. We are also questioning the locals to check if anyone knows the accused," said Daphale.
The crime branch is conducting a parallel inquiry into the case.
"We have questioned the other employees at the victim's workplace. But they do not know much about her. They said she kept to herself and never discussed her personal life," said Daphale.
"The Parabs do not interact much with us. The girls are very shy, they hardly talk to anyone," said one of the neighbours, who did not want to be identified.
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