At around 3.30 pm, three unidentified assailants entered Satbhaya's house located at Bhagunagar Society II at Mora Bhagal. They attacked her and slit open her throat three times before escaping. Satbhaya, 31, succumbed to her injuries within minutes before she could be given any medical aid.

While the exact motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained, a senior police official told The Indian Express, ``initial inquiries suggest that the murder could be because of Satbhaya's friction with a section of builders.''

He said she had often intervened into the works of many a people involved in land-grabbing either by encroaching on road alignments or on lands earmarked under the town planning schemes.

The incident sent shock waves through the city with residents of the area, in a particularly aggressive mood,preventing the police, political leaders and investigating officials to carry on with the investigations. They alleged that the police had not reached in time, and criticised the leaders for not ensuring the safety of the party workers. They grappled with the police and reporters when they attempted to enter the house and did not allow the police to carry out their duties of initial investigations.

According to neighbours' statements, Satbhaya's four-year-old daughter, who was in the house when the assailants attacked her mother, informed the neighbours of the assault.

The neighbours rushed into the house to find Satbhaya in a pool of blood. She was alive but could not speak and hence was unable to disclose any information of the assailants before she died.

Satbhaya's girl also told the police that the men had entered the house when she and her mother were alone, attacked her mother and walked out of the house silently. The girl has yet to describe the killers to the police. Satbhaya's husband,Bipinchandra, was away on work and their four-year-old son, had gone out for tuition.

Sniffer dogs were brought to the site to trace the scent of the killers. They traced the scent to Mora Bhagal Char Rasta about 100 metres away. However, after that they lost the scent meaning that the killers walked up to the cross roads and boarded a vehicle, said the police.

Besides Police Commissioner Maniram and all other top police officials of the city, a number of leaders including the Mayor, Municipal Commissioner, councillors and ministers rushed to the spot. The residents of the area, who had by then gathered around the spot barred them from entering the house as they were angered over the delay of their arrival, which was barely 45 minutes after the incident. The neighbours told The Indian Express that being a municipal councillor, her door was usually open as people frequently visited the house.

The police are still clueless about the possible reason that could have prompted the murder of thecouncillor. It has however been known that the Satbhaya family is a middle class family and her involvement in politics could be the most probable reason for the murder.

Meanwhile, city Police Commissioner Maniram has asked the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) PI M G Kaneriya to investigate the case.