Ahmedabad: For 17 years, Sangeeta Marwadi’s family was haunted by one agonising question: who had raped and killed the seven-year-old? The clue may have been lying in the child’s clothes all along, preserved as part of the evidence from the 2009 case. It took a fresh examination of the old evidence for cops to find four strands of hair that could change the course of the investigation.Police have now zeroed in on a man from Sangeeta’s neighbourhood. A DNA test will determine whether the lead becomes a breakthrough.The hair strands were found during a re-examination of the seized evidence in the case by a senior officer from Ahmedabad city crime branch.Bapunagar police began investigating the case, which was later transferred to CID (Crime). It was eventually handed over to Ahmedabad city crime branch.“In 2024, we reopened the case. After analysing the crime, we re-examined the seized muddamal, including the victim’s clothes. Her clothes, preserved with different agencies, had hair strands that were sent for DNA analysis. We know who the culprit is, and the DNA results will be the last nail in his coffin,” a senior crime branch officer said.The DNA analysis is being conducted by an institute based in Gandhinagar. Police are awaiting the report, which they believe could establish whether the prime suspect was involved in the crime.Police had initially identified four suspects and later narrowed the list to two. “One of them has now emerged as the prime suspect after four hair strands, believed to be pubic hair, were found on Sangeeta’s clothes,” the officer said.The man had been living in the same vicinity as Sangeeta, but remained out of the police net despite investigations by three agencies and the efforts of several officers.The case had earlier taken a wrong turn when police arrested a security guard. He was later found to be innocent.Sangeeta’s father, Bhopaji Marwadi, continued to pursue the case with the help of NGOs. He approached human rights commissions and courts in pursuit of justice for his daughter. The family had also approached Prime Minister’s Office, requesting that the probe be handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Sangeeta lived with her family in a settlement opposite Shreeji High School in Bapunagar. One afternoon in Feb 2009, she went to a neighbour’s house to play. She later left to buy an ice gola from a vendor who stood near an open ground close to her home.When she did not return, her family began searching for her. Three days later, her body was found in a common toilet at another govt school near Shreeji High School. The investigation revealed that she had been raped and murdered.More than 150 people have been questioned intensively in connection with the case over the years. Now, after 17 years, investigators are hoping that the DNA report will finally confirm whether the clue preserved in Sangeeta’s clothes leads to the man they suspect.
