Latvian woman murder: Cops closing in on killer

Liga (right) with her sister Ilze, who had accompanied her to India

With autopsy reports confirming that 33-year-old Latvian national Lisa Skromane was indeed murdered near Kovalam beach, Kerala, the Special Investigating Team (SIT) that had been formed by the Kerala police to search for her when she had gone missing, say they are close to making an announcement on the possible killers. Officials told mid-day from Kovalam, "We have got some strong leads on the suspects who are being questioned by the team. We will be corroborating the same with the evidence available and will be linking their role."

State Director General of Police Lokanath Behara said, "We are on the job, and we will put things in the public domain only once we are completely sure about the matter. It may take a day or two."

Ten days ago, Liga's decapitated and decomposed body was found in a marshy plot amidst mangroves, some distance from Kovalam beach, over a month after she had gone missing. The SIT has set up a special camp office near the spot where the body was found. "This makes it easy for the SIT look for evidence in and around the crime scene. The suspects, too, were questioned at the camp office."

Missing posters of Liga Skromane

P Prakash, police commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram city, said, "The autopsy report has confirmed that the death was due to 'blunt force applied to neck' and accordingly we have registered a murder case at Thiruvallam police station. We are in the process of collecting forensic evidence from the crime scene."
Meanwhile, Liga's younger sister Ilze has said she was satisfied with the manner in which the SIT under the leadership of IGP Manoj Abraham was making progress in the case. "We are hopeful that those involved will be apprehended soon," she said.

When asked if she got the R5 lakh compensation as promised by the Kerala State government, Ilze said, "The government was prompt to give us the Rs 5 lakh." When asked if she knew about the postmortem findings, she said, "I am yet to receive any official feedback from the police." Ilze is keen on taking Liga's remains back home to their parents in Latvia as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, a police team visited the Dharma Ayurveda Centre, where Liga was undergoing treatment and have taken some of her belongings. Tulsidas, 62, a staffer at the centre who had assisted Ilze in registering a missing complaint, confirmed the same. When asked if a yoga teacher, who is a suspect and is under detention, belonged to the centre, Tulsidas said the teacher was not a staffer and that locals had been saying that he was spotted with Liga at Kovalam beach.

Also read: Sister of missing Latvian woman claims murder, while cops suspect suicide

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