"Investigation is not a magic" is how Kerala's new police chief Loknath Behra explained on Sunday the lack of breakthrough so far in the probe into the murder and possible rape of 27-year-old law student Jisha.
Behra visited on Sunday the victim's residence in Perumbavoor of Ernakulam district and told reporters that the unravelling of the mystery would take time.
"While in some cases it can be solved in a day, in some others it could take a year. Investigation is not magic... but it's going in the right direction," said Behra.
Jisha was found murdered on April 28 at her home here by her mother Rajeshwari who works as a casual labourer. Her body was badly mutilated and police spotted injuries on her sexual parts.
The case was reminiscent of Jyoti Singh 'Nirbhaya' who was gang-raped and brutalised on December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in New Delhi.
Jisha's murder became a cause célèbre in Kerala's election season. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) said it reflected the slide in law and order that the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had allowed.
The opposition also promised to book the culprits within hours if elected to power.
The newly elected LDF government, which assumed office on May 25, changed the entire team probing the case and early this week replaced Director General of Police (DGP) T.P. Senkumar with Behra.
The probe team by now has questioned more than 200 people and has examined thousands of mobile calls made from the locality and released the profile picture of a suspect.
