New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) As crime and forensic teams conduct scene recreation in the murder of an IRS officer’s daughter in southeast Delhi, investigations have revealed that the accused, Rahul Meena, was infamous for aggressive behaviour in his native village, police sources said.
According to a police source, the accused was taken to Palam railway station on Friday, where he visited first after committing the crime. He will also be taken to a hotel in Dwarka, where he stayed for some hours before being arrested.
Police said the accused was known for aggression in his native place in Rajasthan. “During the inquiry, we came to know that Meena and his father were known in their village for their aggressive behaviour. Our team is there. They are told that his father is an alcoholic and Meena is addicted to online games,” said a police source.
Meanwhile, sources said police will conduct a psychological analysis of the accused to evaluate his mental state and behavioural patterns, as he has exhibited psychopathic tendencies and has had a history of violent conduct.
“Police are now planning a detailed psychological assessment of the accused,” said a source.
He said Meena was addicted to online betting and card games such as “teen patti” and had lost over Rs 7 lakh in the last few months, which drove him to frequently borrow money to sustain the habit.
Earlier, he was fired from the victim’s house, where he had been employed as a domestic help, for financial misconduct. But Meena had returned to his native village and lied to his parents that he had left the job, the police source said.
“He never told his parents that he was sacked,” the source said.
A senior police officer who interrogated Meena told PTI that he is remorseless and told investigators that the murder “just happened” in a fit of rage.
He told the police, “agar didi paise de deti to aisa nahi hota” (if sister had given the money, this would not have happened), the officer said.
“Chori karne ka afsos nahi par marna nahi chaiye tha, ho gaya” (I don’t regret committing the theft, but I shouldn’t have killed her. It just happened), Meena told interrogators, according to the officer.
Sources confirmed that the accused displayed a strangely calm demeanour after his arrest, showing no remorse.
“During questioning, he was quite casual. He acted as if everything was normal. Usually, when a person commits a heinous murder, they would display some anxiety, anger, restlessness or remorse. Meena was very casual,” said a source.
He said the accused did not react much, but only repeated that he wanted money to clear his debts.
“We asked him if he regrets what he has done. Meena replied that the family was like god to him, but he wanted money,” the source said.
The psychological analysis may involve clinical evaluation by experts to assess aggression levels, emotional responses and personality traits, including indicators linked to disorders such as anti-social personality disorder, sources said.
Investigators are also probing whether the crime was premeditated or committed on impulse. Meena’s psychological profiling would play a key role in understanding his mindset and also recreating the sequence of events, they said.
Police said they are also trying to find Meena’s phone, which they believe he has dumped somewhere before or after committing the crime.
“His phone will be a breakthrough in the case, as it could show who he contacted before or after the incident. Meena also possesses two different social media profiles. One profile is locked, the other is open. In the second, he has posted one reel and two of his pictures. We will also check his chats,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, Meena’s family members claimed that he was a quiet person with “good behaviour” and was good at studies. They denied the rape allegation and claimed that he did not have bad habits except for online gaming addiction.
Speaking to reporters in Alwar, Meena’s mother, a homemaker, said that her son was well-behaved. She said she last spoke to him on the night of April 21 before he left to attend a wedding.
“After that, we could not contact him. The next day, police came and informed us about the incident,” she said, adding that the family was unaware of his whereabouts thereafter.
One of his uncles said Meena had secured good marks in his graduation.
Meena’s sister denied the rape allegation reported from Rajgarh in Alwar, calling it “completely false.” The accused had raped a friend’s wife in Rajgarh before heading to Delhi, according to investigators.
Meena’s sister said debts incurred from online gaming may have been the reason for the Rajgarh woman levelling a rape allegation against her brother, and also the reason behind his visit to the IRS officer’s residence in Delhi.
She alleged that Meena and the Rajgarh rape victim’s husband had incurred losses — Rs 5 lakh and Rs 90,000, respectively — while playing an online game, leading to huge debts and the pressure to repay them.
“He had gone (to Delhi) to recover the money as he was pressured,” Meena’s sister said, adding that he had even pawned his mobile phone for Rs 20,000.
“If my brother has done anything wrong, he should be punished,” she added.
Some villagers also said Meena was a quiet person and had completed his BA in 2023, but had developed an online gambling habit soon after.
The case pertains to the murder of a 22-year-old woman, daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer, an engineering graduate and UPSC aspirant, at her residence in southeast Delhi’s Kailash Hills locality.
Investigators said Meena used his familiarity with the house layout and access points to enter the flat.
Police had said that he allegedly went to the rooftop study room where the victim was studying and attacked her with a heavy object, raped her and dragged her downstairs to use her fingers for the biometric locker to steal cash from home.
The autopsy confirmed strangulation as the cause of death, along with multiple injuries, including a nasal bone fracture, indicating a struggle.
“He fled after changing clothes and slippers, and reached Palam Railway Station to catch a train to Rewari in Haryana. When he failed to catch the train, he booked a hotel in Dwarka, from where he was arrested. More than Rs 1 lakh in cash and stolen jewellery were recovered from his possession,” a police officer said. PTI BM RUK RUK
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