'Masked men and a hard disk': How a forensic student plotted the ‘perfect murder’; inspired by crime shows

NEW DELHI: It was meant to be "perfect murder" -- until it wasn't. A 21-year-old forensic science student's elaborate plan to kill her 32-year-old live-in partner and disguise it as an accident fell apart after CCTV footage and expert analysis exposed her crime.Amrita Chauhan, along with her ex-boyfriend Sumit Kashyap (27) and their friend Sandeep Kumar (29), strangled UPSC aspirant Ramkesh Meena to death this month. The trio then poured oil, ghee, and wine on his body to ensure it burned completely, police said.Meena had allegedly refused to delete Amrita's private photos and videos stored on his hard disk, the dispute which turned fatal for him.According to police, Amrita, a forensic science student, used her academic knowledge and ideas inspired by crime web series to stage the murder as an accidental fire. “The case was one of the perfectly planned murders, but it was solved even more perfectly by the Delhi Police through relentless investigation and scientific analysis,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Yadav told PTI news agency.Investigators said Amrita was obsessed with crime web series and binge-watched them regularly, using what she learned to plot the murder. Initially, the crime scene -- a north Delhi Gandhi Vihar flat -- appeared to show a cylinder blast, with no visible signs of violence.Yadav said, “At the onset, it appeared to be an accidental fire. But no matter how perfect a plan is, criminals always leave some clue. Our team worked more perfectly and cracked the case.”Police said Amrita used her forensic training to erase evidence, pouring oil, ghee, and wine on the body and leaving the cylinder valve open before igniting it. “Amrita, being a forensic student, had used her knowledge to erase evidence,” Yadav added.However, forensic experts soon noticed irregularities in the burn marks that didn’t match an accidental fire. This led investigators to re-examine the case.“We scanned several CCTV cameras around the area and found two masked men entering the building on the night of October 5, followed by Amrita and another man later. Moments after they left, the fire erupted,” Yadav said.The CCTV footage shifted the course of the probe. Combined with call data records and technical surveillance, it placed Amrita near the scene when the fire broke out. Police tracked her movements and arrested her from Moradabad on October 18.During interrogation, Amrita broke down and confessed. She told police that Meena had recorded intimate videos of her and refused to delete them after their breakup. Furious, she sought help from her ex-boyfriend Sumit, who, along with Sandeep, helped her plan and execute the murder.Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said, “The hard disk has been sent for forensic examination. Further investigation into the matter is under way.”On the night of October 5–6, the trio went to Meena’s flat. Sumit and Sandeep strangled him, while Amrita poured oil, ghee, and wine on his body. Sumit, an LPG distributor, opened the cylinder knob near Meena’s head before setting it on fire. They locked the flat from inside using Amrita’s hand through a removed portion of the iron gate net and escaped with Meena’s hard disk, laptops, and other belongings. An hour later, the cylinder exploded, engulfing the body in flames.“We have substantial evidence to prove the crime -- from CCTV footage to recovered items and digital traces,” Yadav said.Following her arrest, police recovered Meena’s hard disk, a trolley bag, and a shirt belonging to the victim. Sumit was later caught from Moradabad on October 21, and Sandeep was nabbed two days after. Their phones and other evidence used in the crime were also seized.What was meant to be a “perfect murder” planned by a forensic mind turned into a perfect case solved by forensic science itself.