Japanese was a researcher on vacation

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 20: Suzuki Takuma was a second-year student of fishery at the University of Nagasaki. The 20-year-old had planned to t...

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 20: Suzuki Takuma was a second-year student of fishery at the University of Nagasaki. The 20-year-old had planned to travel to Guam later this year to do some on-the-spot research. But before that, he wanted to take a short break. Takuma was looking for a good time before he got back to his books. His destination was India and unfortunately he didn8217;t make it back home.

A keen athlete, Takuma was a member of a swimming club and also an athletic club. He participated in the triathlon, bicycled his way into representing Nagasaki in a sports meet and was a bright student. The younger brother of a photographer working with the leading Japanese daily, Sankei Shimbun, Takuma was born in Fujieda city in West Tokyo.

His body was found in a drain in R.K. Puram on December 29 and not December 27 as reported earlier. Following the 72-hour deadline applicable for unidentified bodies, his last rites were performed by the police. A positive identification of the body was made only day before yesterday after Suzuki8217;s pictures appeared in missing8217; advertisements in a few newspapers.

On December 27, the day Takuma is said to have arrived in the capital from Kathmandu, six other people with the same name also landed. Two of the six people arrived around the same time in the afternoon when Takuma is said to have landed. Suzuki Pakuma arrived on flight RA 205 at 3.43 p.m. and Suzuki Shiget Sugu arrived on a special flight at 2.42 p.m.

Records of the pre-paid taxi stands at the airport at the IGI airport indicate that of these there was only one 8220;Mr Suzuki8221; who took a taxi to the New Delhi Railway Station at 6.44 p.m. No other pre-paid taxi was issued in the name of anybody with the name Suzuki.

Also, immigration records indicate that Suzuki arrived at the IGI Airport on UA 011 from Hong Kong at 2.30 p.m. on December 18. Pre-paid counter records indicate that he did not take a taxi that day. The possibility of some known person having picked up Takuma from the airport is also being explored.

There is also no record of Takuma having flown out of the airport after that. The police is exploring the possibility of Takuma having travelled by road to Kathmandu.

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Further, the two day time gap between when Takuma went missing from the airport and a body was found in the drain is bothering investigating officials. According to them, the fact that the body was mutilated and dumped two days after he went missing casts a shadow of doubt on the robbery motive.