Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh Resigns for Politics; What Will Happen to Esther Anuhya's Murder Case?

Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh has resigned to join a political party, citing his desire to 'serve the country', even as the investigation into the case of Mumbai techie, whose charred body was found in a swamp earlier in January, has made no headway. 

"So far my sphere of work was limited to Mumbai, now I want to serve the country," NDTV has quoted the top cop as saying. Although the fact remains that his resignation will not halt the investigation on the Esther Anuhya's murder case, it is worth mentioning that this has been a singular high profile case of recent times that drew much attention in the public sphere.

Singh has not mentioned which political party he is likely to join, but the fact that he has resigned without giving a definitive closure to the investigation into the Anuhya's case is likely to adversely affect his political movements in near future. Even as he announced his resignation, Singh has refused to take the blame for slow investigations into the 23-year-old IT professional's case.

Anuhya's family has claimed that the Mumbai police, in the first place, refused to register an FIR when she went missing. Secondly, the family members have claimed that Anuhya's cousin found the charred body with the help of some locals and that police has no hand in finding the body while Satyapal Singh has repeatedly told the media that it is a false allegation.

"It is not true that Mumbai Police did not discover the body and the family knows that," Singh told CNN IBN.

The young IT professional went missing on 5 January but investigation started much later as the police allegedly refused to register a case in Mumbai. "How can you prove the girl has reached Mumbai and left the station? The last time she was seen was at the Vijaywada station, so book a case there", the cousin quoted the police as saying in a blog post written last week.

Four auto drivers were arrested by the police last week in connection to the case, but various reports suggest that they were let off only days after the arrest. The police have also failed to recover key evidence like the victim's bag and laptop. 

Meanwhile rallies have been staged in the streets as the case has escalated into a woman's safety issue. On Wednesday, a group of delegation from various NGOs seeking justice met with the Home Minister. Billy Sam Varghese, one of the protesters told IBTimes that Home Minister has ordered immediate implementation on a charter of most of the demands outlining the safety of women as follows:

1) Names of auto/taxi drivers ferrying women passengers from railway stations and their vehicle numbers to be recorded by Police - to be implemented immediately.
2) Name of driver, vehicle registration number will be displayed prominently on the passenger seat of autos and taxis.
3) Women passengers will be given priority at the prepaid taxi counters at LTT, Dadar, Mumbai Central and Bandra railway stations.
4) Complaints of missing women will be accepted at any Police station, irrespective of jurisdiction, and the case will be transferred thereafter to any other Police station, if need be.
5) CCTV cameras will be installed at strategic places including Auto/taxi stands outside railway stations.