Kerala rape case: Jisha kept knife under mat indicating she was feeling unsafe

Kochi: The law student who was raped and murdered at her house in Eravichira near Perumbavoor used to sleep with a weapon below her pillow, indicating she was feeling unsafe in the makeshift home and that she feared intruders.

A 48-cm long black handle knife was found beneath the pillow and mat used by the 30-year-old Dalit woman, the cops said in the Inquest report which also includes a list of materials recovered by the cops on the night of April 28, the day she was murdered.

As per the report, the slipper suspected to be that of the attacker was recovered a few km from the crime scene on May 4, five days later.

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Meanwhile, victim’s sister Deepa claimed two Malayali construction workers had threatened to “eliminate” Jisha and her mother a few months back when they questioned the worker’s “bad behaviour”.

“They were engaged in the construction of our new house. I’ve told all these to the cops while they recorded my statement. However, I’ve no migrant labourer friend. In fact, I couldn’t even speak proper Hindi,” she said.

The cops earlier said they were on the trail of a migrant labourer, a friend of Deepa.

Read: Kerala rape case: Pervert held for Dalit law student's murder

Earlier in the day, the special investigation team took a neighbour of the victim into custody from Bangalore and is being questioned. He was missing from the area post the murder.

The cops also made a new sketch of the suspect based on the description provided by an eyewitness who claimed to have seen an unidentified person under mysterious circumstances at Iringolkavu on the day of the murder.

The cops later in the day conducted another round of inspection at the victim’s house at Vattoli Canal Road and sealed the premises.