Lucknow, July 04: The CBI, probing the Madhumita Shukla murder case, is zeroing in on calls made by two persons from a public booth near the slain poetess's residence a day before she was shot dead, hoping that the trail may lead to the killer, a police source said. The sources said the agency has sought details from a PCO near Madhumita's house about the calls made by two persons on May 8, a day before the poetess was shot dead. The source claimed that investigations have revealed that a duo first made a call to Madhumita's mobile from the said PCO and after talking to her for around 2 minutes, made another call to somewhere in western UP. The second call in question can throw light on the killer of Madhumita, the source added. The CBI is presently focussing its investigation on calls made to the slain poetess to identify the people who were in touch with her a few days before she was shot dead, and have sought the help of BSNL in this regard, they said.

The 24-year old poetess was killed on May 9 at her residence by two assailants. The killing created a political storm following allegations that former BSP minister Amar Mani Tripathi had intimate relation with the slain poetess.

Meanwhile, the CBI has send Deshraj, the domestic help of the slain poetess, who is said to have seen the killers, back to his native village in Bahraich after questioning

The source said local police in Bahraich has been given direction to give full security to Deshraj and his family members.

Bureau Report