Cops to scan records of calls made from LTT when victim was still at the station

“Esther is seen talking over a cell phone in the footage. However, CDRs have established that she never used her phone after reaching LTT, which is the basis for our assumption that she could have used the suspect’s phone. Hence, we are now trying to pinpoint the identity of the suspect by identifying his number. While the suspect is seen roaming the station premises in a couple of other cameras, only one camera has captured them together. We are at present collecting data of all cellular calls made from the LTT area around the time the duo were seen together,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.

Esther and the suspect were reportedly seen passing through the area between 5:10 and 5:13 am on January 5, which was shortly after Esther reached LTT by the Vishakapatnam – LTT Express. However, the police are not focusing on this exact time period.

“The time shown on CCTV cameras is not in sync with the actual time, and we have observed this discrepancy in time in varying degrees in different cameras. In order to eliminate this margin of error, we are at present adding five minutes before and after the time that Esther was seen with him,” said another officer.

The task, however, is going to be time consuming and tedious, as the sheer number of calls made from the busy railway terminus runs into several thousands. “Almost everyone alighting or boarding trains at LTT would have called relatives or friends, updating them of their status. Further, the towers providing cellular service to the LTT also provide service to neighbouring areas. For instance, the cellular service tower providing network to Esther’s phone also provides network to areas between Ghatkopar and Kurla. The range of a tower further increases in case of 3G enabled cell phones,” said the officer.

gautam.mengle@expressindia.com