Esther Anuhya, a software engineer suspected to have been raped and murdered in Mumbai, was Saturday buried in her home town Machilipatnam, which observed a shutdown amid protests demanding death penalty for her killers.
Family members, relatives and friends bid a tearful adieu to the 23-year-old techie, who was buried in a cemetery in the coastal town, about 400 km from here.
The half-burnt and highly decomposed body of Anuhya was found Thursday near a drain near Kanjurmarg, a Mumbai suburb. Mumbai police suspect that she was gang-raped before being murdered.
Holding pictures of the victim and banners and placards, a large number of people took to the streets, demanding justice. The protestors, including women and students, demanded that Anuhya's killers be hanged.
The girl's family members broke down as the body reached the town. A shutdown was observed on a call given by Christian organisations.
The techie, who was working with the Tata Consultancy Services Goregaon facility, had gone missing after returning to Mumbai after the Christmas holidays in Machilipatnam.
Her father Surendra Prasad told police that she made the last phone call on the night of Jan 4 when the Visakhapatnam-Mumbai LTT Express, which she had boarded at Vijayawada, reached Pune.
She promised to call the family after reaching her hostel at Andheri in Mumbai. As she did not call again, the family lodged a police complaint.
The woman's co-passengers told police that she had alighted at Kurla Complex. Investigators tracked the signals of two mobile phones she was carrying and the last signal was traced to the red light area of Kamatipura in Mumbai.
