The contract killers, who allegedly murdered Jharkhand resident Suman Barnawal in Lakhisarai district a week ago, are still on the run, while the director-general of police (DGP) on Sunday ruled out rape of the victim.

The DGP, Abhayanand, ruled out the possibility of rape of the deceased on the basis of medical report and claimed that a pool of blood was found very close to the vehicle and another a few meters from the spot of the crime.

The DGP said more people would be arrested in the case. “Several goons have been identified and more people would be arrested soon. The identified goons are not from Dhanbad but they belong to the village where the incident occurred. A person from Dhanbad hired them for committing the crime,” he said.

“The criminals had stopped two other vehicles on the same night, as they did not know which one would carry the Barnawal family. They got hold of this vehicle on the third attempt,” Abhayanand said.

Suman was killed on the night of March 25 while she, along with her husband Naresh Barnawal and other relatives, was on her way to Jamui after a visit to Gaya. The contract killers allegedly murdered her on Sikandra-Sheikhpura road under Halshi police station in Lakhisarai district following instruction from her husband to do so to cover up his illicit relationship with Khushboo, a cousin of Suman.

Naresh, Khushboo and Basant Singh, a Lakhisarai criminal who allegedly played the role of conduit in hiring the contract killers, have been sent to judicial custody. But the contract killers are still at large.

Asked about the steps being taken to arrest the contract killers who were allegedly used by Naresh to eliminate his wife and with whom he was constantly in touch through his cellphone during the course of the journey, Lakhisarai deputy superintendent of police Rajbansh Prasad Singh said: “Raids are on and the killers would be arrested very soon.”

The deputy superintendent of police, who is also heading the police team investigating the case, refused to share the details of the raids or the places on which the police were keeping tabs on to nab the killers.

Singh went on to iterate the Lakhisarai police’s stand that the case had been solved and that the contract killers would be nabbed soon. “Naresh masterminded the crime and we have proof to establish it,” he added.

On March 25, Suman was killed around 9.30pm. She was returning from Rajgir to Jharia in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district via Jamui.

Naresh had alleged that she was raped by the assailants, who went on to rob her and her husband, before opening fire. He said Suman suffered injuries in the firing. He added that Suman was taken to a hospital in Jamui in a critical condition around 2.30am, where she was declared brought dead.

The case took a turn on March 28 when Rajesh, the brother of Suman who was accompanying her when the incident occurred, informed the police that he suspected Naresh’s hand.

Rajesh had claimed that Naresh was having an illicit relationship with Khushboo, which led to the murder of his sister.