A 25-year-old woman researcher's body with multiple wounds inflicted by a surgical blade was found in the laboratory of Dayalbagh Educational Institute in Agra Friday evening.

Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Subhash Chandra Dubey said the woman was pursuing PhD in Biotechnology under the guidance of Dr Amla Chopra. Additional SP Pawan Kumar said the victim had more than 20 injuries on the body and her hands were tied. The police found an empty bottle of chloroform near the body. Circle Officer Sameer Saurabh said the autopsy report did not mention sexual assault. It said she died of excessive bleeding.

No one has been arrested fo far. The police said they suspected the involvement of more than one person in the crime. An FIR was lodged at the New Agra police station. A team of forensic experts visited the laboratory and took fingerprints. Around two dozen people, including staff of the institute, were questioned.

Students of the institute Saturday staged a protest and blocked roads demanding arrest of the cuplrits. The protest was called off after senior police officials assured to solve the case soon. According to the police, on Friday evening the woman was alone in the laboratory after Dr Chopra left. She spoke to her father Rishi Pal Sharma, who works in a private firm in Delhi, twice.

An hour later, when her father again called up, a unidentified male voice responded and told him that she had gone to Sadar area for some work. Around one hour later, the Agra police recovered an abandoned car in Khelgaon, about one kilometre from the institute. When they searched the car, the police found a paper in which a cellphone number was mentioned.

When the police called on that number, Sharma received the call and informed the police that the car belonged to him and that his daughter had taken it to her institute.

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