Surat: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has taken charge of the investigation into the murder of Nidhi Patel, a 22-year-old computer engineer, at Godavadi village in Mandvi taluka, with Surat district police reshuffling the probe team and widening the search for evidence.The SIT was constituted on Friday and the investigation formally transferred to a new investigating officer. N G Panchani, police inspector of the local crime branch, has replaced Mandvi police inspector J S Valvi as the investigating officer.The SIT is headed by Akshesh Engineer, assistant superintendent of police, Mandvi division. Its members include special operations group PI L D Odedara, PI J S Valvi, Zankhvav police station PI P Y Chitte and woman police sub-inspector K V Patel. Around 60 police officers and personnel have been assigned to the probe.Investigators questioned villagers and residents living near the victim’s house. Police said the absence of a CCTV network in the village complicated efforts to reconstruct movements during the night of the crime.Teams also questioned workers at nearby commercial establishments and verified their movements around the time of the incident.Police questioned Nidhi’s friends to determine whether she had spoken of any threats, disputes or unusual interactions in the recent past. Officials said analysis of call data records has so far yielded no significant leads.Investigators are also examining whether communication took place through applications using voice calls or text messages. Police said some app-based data may become accessible only after forensic examination of devices.The victim’s mobile phone, recovered from a water tank, has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for data extraction and technical analysis. Investigators are also gathering background information through digital records as part of the inquiry.Nidhi was found murdered early on Monday after her parents returned from a pilgrimage. She was home alone that night, police said.
