Debt, gambling spiral behind house help’s ‘act of desperation’ in ‘killing’ IRS’s daughter, cops say

Accused Rahul Meena’s initial plan was to rob the house, flee with money and return it to people he owed, was hoping to board passenger train to Alwar but missed it, say police.

Rahul Meena in police custody Thursday | ANI video grab

New Delhi: Rahul Meena, accused of assaulting, raping and murdering the 22-year-old daughter of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer in Delhi and robbing Rs 2-2.5 lakh from the house, was addicted to gambling and deep in debt, police officers said Thursday.

“He had been under pressure. He sold off three phones for money, but whatever money he would collect, he would then gamble it all away, hoping to make some more money. That never happened,” a Delhi Police officer told ThePrint, revealing the details of police interrogation of Meena.

“He sold off other things in his house, small electronics, with the same motive. He ended up losing all his money by the end of it,” said the officer, adding that his crime was an “act of desperation”.

Meena, 19, was arrested by the police Wednesday from a hotel in Dwarka, hours after CCTV cameras caught him exiting the house of his former employer after committing the robbery and murder. The parents of the woman had gone to the nearby gym when Meena managed to gain entry to the house using a spare key.

While employed with the IRS officer for eight months, Meena was paid around Rs 20,000 monthly, the police said. He was laid off from the job 1.5 months ago.

“His primary motive for robbery. He had not planned anything in advance; it was done in desperation. Even in his interrogation he revealed that he had asked the deceased to just give him money, and when she refused, he attacked her, and eventually raped her,” said the officer.

While Meena apologised for his act in court, the police also said he had “no remorse”.

Elaborating further on Meena’s case, the police said his plan was to take the money and flee to Rajasthan’s Alwar, from where he hails. But he missed the train, and thus hid in Dwarka.

According to the police, Meena could not pay back his debts. “He decided to work in Delhi, assuming he will be able to earn enough to save and return home. However, his gambling addiction became a problem,” the officer said.

Not just in Delhi, the officer added, Meena owed money to his neighbours in Alwar, and they had started visiting his family, demanding that he pay back.

He then decided to go to Delhi and commit the robbery, said the police.

After leaving from the IRS officer’s house, Meena changed his clothes—donning a pant and footwear belonging to the deceased’s brother—and walked around the neighbourhood, pretending to be on a phone call. This was caught on CCTV as well.

This, said the police, was done to ward off suspicion. “Nobody should doubt him, which is why he pretended to be on a call,” said the officer mentioned earlier.

Meena then boarded an auto to Palam railway station to catch a passenger train to Alwar. But by the time he reached, the train had departed.

“His motive was to hide. He then booked a hotel in Dwarka, and stayed there. He was talking to someone on Instagram and we traced him to the hotel some hours later,” said a second police officer.

He added that Meena planned to wait for the next passenger train to Alwar, and to return to the city and give the money to his family so that it could be returned to his creditors.

“He then planned to leave Alwar permanently but the police caught him,” added the officer.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)