NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old forensic science student, along with her former partner and his associate, allegedly murdered her 32-year-old live-in partner and tried to pass it off as an accidental fire in north Delhi’s Timarpur area earlier this month.
Police said the accused, identified as Amrita Chauhan (21), her ex-boyfriend Sumit Kashyap (27), and his friend Sandeep Kumar (29), strangled Ramkesh Meena, a UPSC aspirant, before setting his body ablaze.
The trio reportedly poured oil, ghee, and wine on the body to ensure it burned completely. On October 6, police received information about a fire incident in Timarpur. Firefighters discovered a charred body at the scene.
Initially, the death appeared accidental, as the accused had taken extreme precautions to destroy evidence. However, forensic experts found inconsistencies in the burn patterns, prompting a deeper probe.
CCTV footage from the night of October 5–6 revealed two masked persons entering the building, followed by Chauhan and another individual leaving just before the fire broke out.
This led investigators to Chauhan, who was arrested on October 18. During interrogation, she confessed to the murder and named her co-conspirators, said police.
Officials said Chauhan alleged that Meena had made obscene videos and photos of her and stored them on a hard disc. Despite repeated requests, he refused to delete them, fabricating stories instead. Distressed, Chauhan confided in her ex-boyfriend Kashyap, who decided to “take revenge.”
Leveraging her background as a forensic science student and her interest in crime shows, Chauhan planned the murder to resemble a fire accident. Kashyap, who works as an LPG distributor, used his technical knowledge to trigger the explosion. After killing Meena, the trio set the fire, locked the gate from outside, and escaped with the hard disc, laptops, and other belongings.
The recovered hard disc has been sent for forensic examination to verify the existence of additional objectionable material, police added.