New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) A 19-year-old accused of allegedly raping and murdering an IRS officer’s 22-year-old daughter in southeast Delhi’s Kailash Hills locality was spotted near her residence early on Wednesday morning before committing the crime, locals claimed.
Rahul Meena, the domestic help who had worked with the family for around eight months and was sacked about a month ago, was arrested for the crime on Wednesday, police said.
Preliminary inquiry suggests the woman, who was preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, was allegedly sexually assaulted before being strangled to death using a mobile phone charger cable, police said.
“Locals asked Rahuls why he was there since he had already been removed from the job. He told them he was looking for work in the area and had come to ask if there was any opportunity,” a shopkeeper in the locality said. The shopkeeper further shared that some drivers recognised Rahul and questioned him about his presence there. He added that Rahul was spotted around 6 am near the victim’s house by drivers and car cleaners working in the area.
Police suspect Rahul allegedly entered the house when the woman was alone.
The woman, daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, was found dead in a room of her house by family members after they returned from the gym, police said.
A police source said the family immediately checked CCTV footage after discovering her body and allegedly saw Rahul entering the building and going towards the third floor, where the victim lived.
Residents said the incident has exposed serious security concerns in the upscale gated colony.
Though the locality is considered secure, the building where the victim and her family lived did not have a security guard, Sumit, a resident, told PTI.
“The colony is gated, but there is no guard for this particular building. Most other houses here have private security guards. Earlier, too, there were two or three theft incidents, but we never imagined something this horrific could happen,” Sumit said.
“I have a daughter and a daughter-in-law at home. If something like this can happen in the morning, inside a house, people are naturally scared about what could happen at night,” he added. PTI SHB SHB MPL MPL
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