Delhi horror: Woman, thrown off roof by burqa-clad stalker, dies; heavy police deployment in area as incident causes furore

NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old woman who was pushed from the fifth-floor terrace of her house by her alleged stalker on Monday morning succumbed to injuries hours later, police said. The accused, identified as Taufiq, was arrested in UP Tuesday night, after six police teams conducted raids across the two states to nab him.

The incident took place in Ashok Nagar locality of Jyoti Nagar area. CCTV footage and investigation revealed the suspect entered the house wearing a burqa. He caught hold of Neha, strangled her with her dupatta and threw her off the roof after an argument, police said.

The incident caused a furore in the area and heavy police deployment was ensured to maintain peace. The postmortem was conducted on Tuesday afternoon, after which several cops escorted the body to the cremation ground. Mandoli Road market remained closed in protest. The market association said they were verifying the identity of the staffers and won't employ people without proper identity documents.

Police, which had registered a case of attempted murder on Monday, have added a section of murder to the FIR.

Neha's family said their building has multiple flats and the door leading to the rooftop is usually left open. At the time of the incident, she had gone to the terrace to check the water supply and to wash clothes. Her father told police he was also on his way to the terrace when he saw Taufiq strangling Neha, pushing her and causing her to fall to the ground, where a heap of bricks was kept. Upon hearing the noise, local residents rushed to the scene and took Neha to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

At the crime scene, clothes were scattered across the terrace, suggesting that Neha was doing laundry when the argument with Taufiq broke out, leading to the struggle.

One of Neha's relatives said she had gone to the terrace around 7.30am Monday. About 20 minutes later, Taufiq arrived, disguised in a burqa. At the time, no one realised it was him - Neha's elder sister was asleep and her mother was standing on the balcony.

Taufiq lives with his brother in Delhi and their family resides in UP's Moradabad area, police said. He had been employed in a godown and helped at a local grocery shop in Ashok Nagar.