What is more strange, however, is that this has happened in the wake of the police officials' statement that none of the three in custody -- Chandrakant Kahar, Naresh Patel and Kallu Dagga -- actually killed the municipal councillor, who was also chief of the city BJP women's wing and the Surat Municipal Corporation's law committee chairman.

The seemingly slow progress of the investigation and the fact that none of the actual culprits have been arrested gives credence to the belief that this was a political murder instigated by those who felt threatened by her tirade against illegal constructions and land-grabbing. The police, too, have stated on record that they're probing a political conspiracy and a builder connection.

All three arrested have been subjected to lie-detector and narco-analysis tests, sources said. Kahar, incidentally, is said to have a finger in every other land-deal, while Patel, allegedly a close associate of Olpad MLA Dhansukh Patel, deals in condemned naphtha.

Talking to Express Newsline on Thursday, city police commissioner Kuldip Sharma said Kahar had confessed to mediating with Satbhaya's killers. Declining to provide any information on the results of the tests, he said, ``It could affect the investigations''.

However, Sharma's statement indicated two things: that the three are not the actual killers and that the two parties that Kahar mediated between are yet to be arrested. The CP said as much: ``Two or three people are yet to be arrested in the case, though we have their names. We're looking for corroborative evidence to nail them''.