Police teams working on the case are nowhere near the murderer, as all leads so far have yielded no credible results. "Another case of blind murder, like Arushi, or is it that the police is trying to deliberately confuse the case to shield a powerful person," asks advocate Rajveer Singh.

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{/googleAds} Neha was working on a highly sensitive research project in bio-technology and was inching closer to a major find, say students of DEI.

The Holi holidays have further compounded the case, as police investigators can not talk to the students. The director of the DEI has sent out letters and press releases to ask the police not to harass anyone and stay away from third degree methods. Those asked to appear for interrogation should be given proper medical care and allowed human rights protection, he said.

Meanwhile, protest rallies, candle marches continue. The recent spate in sexual crimes has sent shock waves all around. "Stalkers are lurking around every nook and corner in the city. The road crossings and the gates of girls' colleges have become dens of such anti-social elements," says social activist Padmini Iyer.

The city of love is turning hostile to the safety of young girls. "More than 30 young girls have been targeted for sexual assaults in past 20 months. This is highest in the state. Parents don't send the girls alone these days. And most girls you see on roads these days are all wrapped up Taaliban style, so that you can not see their faces, nor recognise them," Padmini adds.

In past two years scores of young girls have either been raped or have disappeared, their bodies mutilated, many still missing. Last month bodies of three young girls murdered and bodies mutilated beyond recognition, were recovered from railway tracks.

Why is Agra suddenly turning hostile to the fair sex? The social scientists say "there are many reasons. With empowerment and women-friendly schemes of the governments in Lucknow and Delhi, more and more girls seem to be enjoying their new found freedom and venturing out to city areas. The sex-starved males find them easy preys," explains Vishal, a social activist.

"The pomp and glare of the city life lures many who become targets of abuse by predators at large," says Naresh Paras, a human rights activist. The right to education for all and the attraction of free meals, free books, bags, uniforms and even cycles, have increased mobility and has proved a great motivating factor to bring girls out of their conventional mindsets and backgrounds. "But this trend has also created a whole lot of social problems, failed love affairs, murders, attacks, rapes and cheating and invariably its the young girls who have to suffer," Naresh adds.

Sex-related crimes have undoubtedly increased. See the crowd at the family courts and the thanas. You now have young married women revolting against an oppressive system propped up by insane and inhuman mother in laws, or relatives and in most cases drunkard husbands. "One does see a rise in promiscuity also, perhaps fuelled by media or internet. Young girls having affairs and even indulging in pre-marital sex or participating in drink-drug parties, have no qualms about what they describe as the decadent moral values," says activist Sudheir Gupta of Vijay Nagar colony.

Of late an alarming spurt in sex-related crimes involving young girls, has shocked Taj city. While civil society activists blame the political class for callous indifference and complicity in some cases, senior police officials at several interactions recently have targeted changing life-styles and loosening parental grip on children.

Police teams keep raiding brothels in the red light areas of Mal Ka Bazar in the heart of the city, to periodically liberate young girls brought for sale in the flesh trade. Agra has the notorious reputation of being both a mandi and a conduit for supply of girls to various places.

Scanning newspaper reports, its clear that there has been a rape every fourth day. Most girls who have disappeared suddenly from their homes, have yet to return.

Why is the city of love turning into a sex and crime capital? Many locals blame the police, others target the changing moral values. "Its a combination of factors and all of us are partly to blame. With increased freedom and mobility come a set of problems as predators are on the prowl everywhere," says social activist Shravan Kumar Singh.

Father John Ferreira, yoga guru and principal of St. Peter's College says "we must teach our children Yoga, dhyan, meditation and wean away their baser instincts to high creative levels. Parental care in short supply these days, is creating lots of misfits and freaks. Society must wake up to these emerging threats."

Is Agra safe for the young girls? This is the question now being asked, as more and more girls from the rural hinterland are moving out for studies or jobs. "In recent years there has been high migration from the smaller towns and villages on the periphery. These impoverished people live in slums and underdeveloped areas without facilities, exposing the girls and women to all sorts of crimes," according to social activist Shravan Kumar Singh.

Social scientist Vinay Paliwal said "our society had just begun opening up and women were being gradually empowered, now with this kind of anti-women environment, the fear is that the Taalibani mindset could return forcing women indoors. Now this is a sure sign of throw-back mentality."

Sex-rackets, regular supply of girls from Nepal and other areas to the centuries old red light areas of Basai, Mal ka Bazar, Seo ka Bazar areas are sustained by the migrant population. "A large supply comes from Bangladesh. In Agra alone there must be at least a few thousand girls from the east married to locals, symptomatic of the sex-ratio imbalance," points out Surendra Singh Chandel, an activist of Kachchpura village, across the river opposite the Taj Mahal.