Viveka case: DNA samples found under model`s nails

Mumbai: In a fresh development in model Viveka Babajee`s alleged suicide case, forensic experts have detected DNA samples under her nails, prompting police to take blood and DNA profiles of her two friends, including an ex-boyfriend, who are under the scanner since the June incident. The 37-year-old former Miss Mauritius had on June 25 allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her residence in suburban Bandra, police said.

During the searches at her residence, police had found a diary in which Babajee had written "you killed me Gautam". Subsequently, her "boyfriend" Gautam Vora, a stock analyst, and ex-boyfriend Kartik Jobanputra, a businessman, were questioned. But the probe did not make much headway. "The forensic experts have traced DNA samples under the model`s nails. We are trying to match the samples with Vora and Jobanputra`s profiles. For this, we have taken the DNA as well as blood samples of both of them," a police official said today. The official said there was no substantial evidence to charge Vora with abetment to suicide and a mere line that says "you killed me Gautam" is not enough to arrest him. During the questioning, Vora had told police he and Babajee were "just friends" and there was nothing more than that to their relationship -- a claim disputed by the model`s family. The family claimed Vora and Viveka were in a steady relationship and released photographs and Internet text messages exchanged between the duo to support their claim, and asked Vora to "come out with truth about Babajee". Jobanputra was in a relationship with Babajee for a brief period between 2008 and mid-2009. According to police, Babajee and Jobanputra had jointly floated an event management company when they were together, but differences cropped up between them later. PTI