Agra researcher`s murder: 3 persons held

Agra: Police have detained three persons for questioning and also recovered the mobile phone of the 23-year-old research scholar, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances here, even as University students continued their protest demanding arrest of those involved in the murder.

Yesterday, the police team probing the mysterious death of Neha Sharma, a nanotechnology researcher arrived in Delhi and have held a youth, a resident of Dayalbagh who had decamped to the capital, in connection with the murder. Police have also held a youth here after his house was raided and some blood-stained clothes were recovered from there. A temporary employee of Dayalbagh university has also been held for interrogation, police sources said. According to the police, information obtained from the girl`s laptop pointed a finger at a relative of a high official of Dayalbagh University for alleged involvement in the murder. 23-year-old Neha was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her laboratory on March 16 at a private educational institute here. The girl`s body bearing multiple knife marks was found laying in a pool of blood, with her hands tied behind her back. Senior Police Superintendent Subhash Chandra Dubey said that somebody had planted the girl`s mobile phone without the SIM card and battery in the bushes where the laptop was recovered a day after near the laboratory where the girl`s body was found. Meanwhile, the incident had sparked protests by the students of the college, where Neha was enrolled for her Ph.D, forcing the police to resort to baton charge yesterday. The agitating students alleged that both the university authorities and the police were asking them to withdraw their protest, but they would continue to demand justice till the murderer was apprehended and punished. PTI