By Express News Service KOCHI: Though police arrested Safar Sha, 26, for allegedly murdering Plus-II student Eva Antony, alias Gopika, the investigation team is yet to recover vital material evidence. The accused had allegedly confessed that he had thrown the knife, with which he stabbed the girl, in the forest. However, the police are yet to recover it despite search operations. The officers said the knife is a crucial material evidence in the case. Besides, they have to look into the background of the accused and carry out collection of evidence on the spot with him. Meanwhile, the police approached the Ernakulam District Court on Monday seeking Sha’s custody for further interrogation and evidence collection.“The police will get Sha in custody on Tuesday. He will then be subjected to a detailed interrogation,” said Ernakulam Central CI S Vijayasankar, The body of Eva, 17, a resident of Kaloor in Kochi who went missing on January 7, was found at a tea estate in Malakkapara bordering Tamil Nadu the same night with stab injuries. According to the police, Sha, an employee of a car service centre in Maradu, had carried out the crime after meticulously planning it over two weeks. Sha had confessed that he killed Eva for rejecting his marriage proposal. The two had been in a relationship for about a year. After Eva’s parents opposed it, she opted to end the affair. However, Sha kept stalking her, said the police.

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