NEW DELHI: Investigators probing the murder of Debosmita Paul, an assistant professor at a Delhi University college, are trying to trace two persons seen in her housing complex with their faces covered.The duo, a man and a woman, were seen walking one behind the other and exiting the premises in east Delhi’s Vasundhara Enclave separately, around 30 minutes apart, on Wednesday. Police are trying to establish if either of them visited Paul’s house. Investigators have seized some glasses and kitchen utensils from the house and sent them for forensic and DNA examination.As Paul frequently ordered from e-commerce sites, some delivery boys who frequent the society are also being scrutinised, besides a few domestic workers and their friends, sources said.The teacher did not report to work since Tuesday, sources said. She had last spoken to her mother over the phone around 1pm on Wednesday.It is suspected that she may have been killed sometime between 3pm and 6pm the same day. No one saw her after that.The murder was discovered 24 hours later when her sister came to check on her on Thursday. “Paul’s driver came to the society around 9.30am and found the house locked from the outside. After repeated calls to her mobile phone went unanswered, he informed her sister, who alerted police around 2.30pm,” said a senior officer.Investigators have scrutinised the society’s visitor register and reviewed footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras to reconstruct movements within the residential complex and verify people entering and leaving the society.Investigators identified around 180 people whose movements were captured in the area in the time frame when murder is suspected to have taken place. All but 13, including the masked persons, were located by Friday evening and given a clean chit, said a source.Police have also found apparent gaps in the visitor-entry system. “If a resident directly authorised entry by speaking to the main gate guard, or if a visitor could speak to the resident through the guards, their details were sometimes not recorded in the register,” a source said.Cops also found that some areas of the residential complex were not covered by CCTV cameras, posing a challenge for the investigators. Statements of the victim’s family members have been recorded as police continue to piece together the sequence of events and identify the culprits. Investigators have spoken to neighbours, who described Paul as a reserved person who largely kept to herself.Shocked residents at Satyam Apartment are expressing concerns over the security situation. “This is shocking and unbelievable! She was a warm person, often spotted during walks. We never thought a crime like this could happen inside a gated, secured premises like ours,” said a resident. “We have been told there were many lacunae in the security setup, and have demanded their rectification.”
