DCP (South-West) P K Bharadwaj, in an affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court, has stated that the police had investigated all possible angles but the efforts had not yielded anything.

The Outlook cartoonist was found missing on March 9 and his body with multiple stab wounds was found at Ghazipur near the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in East Delhi four days later. His car and valuables, including a mobile phone, were found missing.

The police said the investigations were conducted in a `scientific manner' during which they had recorded the statements of Ghaziabad police, their own Police Control Room (PCR) that first got the news and the beggars; besides relatives and acquaintances. These were cross-checked and corroborated.

Giving details of the investigation covering the possible political angle in the case, thepolice affidavit said several Shiv Sena supporters and the editor of an anti-Shiv Sena newspaper were among the several people questioned.

The affidavit was filed before a division bench of Justices Anil Dev Singh and R S Sodhi, who are hearing a petition filed by Irfan's widow Munira Hussain. Munira had written a registered letter to Chief Justice S N Variava on various facets of the case and alleged `laxity of the police' in the matter. The court treated the letter as a petition.

Following the court's directive asking the police to file a status report about the investigations, the police has filed a 200-page affidavit supported by documents, which explored the personal, political and financial angles in the case.

Said DCP Bharadwaj: "Efforts have been on for the last six months. Our teams have been continuously functioning working at all the possible angles into the case."

The affidavit said so far no one could be proved to have given a contract to get the cartoonist eliminated.

On the personaland professional fronts, the police interrogated Irfan's wife and her friends, Irfan's friends, staff of the Press Club of India where he was last seen and the Outlook magazine staff. The police have also interrogated Major Srinavasan, who was the last person to be seen with Irfan, and his relatives.

The police also probed the financial angle. However, it could not find anything substantive. Further, the police carried out a `mock exercise' by travelling the same route at the same time in the same type of vehicle so as to ascertain whether it was stopped en route.

The affidavit said `bad characters' of the area where he used to stay and where his body was found were checked and more than 300 of them were interrogated. More than 1,100 abandoned houses in the vicinity were searched for blood stains or any other incriminating evidence.

It also lists the efforts made to trace the missing car and the mobile phone. The police was still working on the case and probing some other angles, the affidavitstated.