Daughter of senior official raped, killed at South Delhi home by former help; fired 6 weeks ago

NEW DELHI: The 22-year-old daughter of a senior bureaucrat was sexually assaulted and murdered at her south Delhi home on Wednesday. Her head was smashed with a heavy object and she was strangled with a mobile phone charging cable, the police said.

Police arrested a 23-year-old man from a hotel in Dwarka within 12 hours of the crime. The suspect is a former domestic worker who had been fired six weeks ago for "financial misconduct". He had returned to steal, police said.




The suspect ransacked the victim's house and fled with Rs 2.5 lakh in cash and some valuables. Joint CP (south) Vijay Kumar said the suspect has been booked for rape, murder and robbery. Police said he was not verified.

The incident took place around 6.40am. The woman's parents were away for their morning workout at the time of crime. "Her parents had gone for their gym session. A spare key was left outside the flat for the house help, who would usually come around 6.30-7am," joint CP Kumar said. The suspect was aware of the family's routine as well as the location of the key.

"He entered the house and attacked the woman while she was studying. After demanding the passcode to the almirah, he bludgeoned her with a blunt object and subsequently strangled her with a cable," said an officer.

The family told police that they found their daughter in a pool of blood once they returned home around 8am. She was bleeding excessively so they rushed her to Fortis Hospital. Police were alerted subsequently from the hospital by the family.

The suspect stayed inside the house for about 40 minutes, with the CCTV recording his entry at 6.39am. He ransacked the almirahs and safes and filled the cash in a bag. He changed clothes after the crime and was captured on CCTV leaving the house and walking calmly on the road with a backpack around 7.22am.

A security guard in the colony said that another domestic help, who was cleaning a car at the time, saw the suspect coming out of the victim's house and stopped him. "He asked him why he was in the area and told him to wait and have something to eat. In response, the suspect said he had urgent work and left," the guard added.

After the crime, police formed multiple teams, analysed footage from over 100 CCTV cameras and subsequently traced him to the hotel he had moved into in Dwarka area. Police will produce the suspect in court on Thursday and seek police remand for interrogation regarding the motive and recovery of looted valuables.

According to police, the suspect was recommended as a domestic help by a colleague of the woman's father around a year ago. The colleague was later informed about his vices and his gambling addiction, after which the father let him go. The suspect was also in the habit of borrowing money from people and misappropriating money given for household expenditure.

"We have collected strong evidence in the case and will make a watertight case against the suspect so that he gets the strictest punishment prescribed in the law," DCP (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.
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