NEW DELHI: Police have arrested a man for the murder of a Swiss woman in her thirties in Delhi. After strangling her, he tied her hand and legs with a metal chain and dumped her body, wrapped inside a black plastic bag, on the road.
The man was identified as Gurpreet, 30, a resident of Janakpuri in west Delhi.
The murder came to light on October 20 when police received a PCR call regarding a body lying near the MCD school wall in Tilak Nagar.
"From the initial circumstances, it appeared to be a case of murder, hence the forensic and crime teams were called to the spot. Doctors from DDU Hospital were also called to the spot to help us understand the circumstances of the death," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitraveer Singh said.
After a preliminary inquiry, the police registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and formed multiple teams to crack the case at the earliest.
During the scanning of CCTV cameras in the vicinity of the crime spot, the cops found a vehicle moving around suspiciously. The registration number of that vehicle was captured through which the cops found out the address of a car dealer who sells second-hand cars.
"The car was bought earlier this month by the accused man after making a cash payment. He had given the identity of some other woman while buying the car," the DCP said.
Following the trail of the investigation, police reached the residence of the accused Gurpreet in Janakpuri and apprehended him. Police also recovered cash of Rs 1.5 crore from his residence, which he claimed came from selling some property.
During initial interrogation, Gurpreet told the cops that the woman had arrived in India on his invitation after he befriended her a couple of years ago through social media.
Sources in the police department said he told them that the woman would often talk to him over the phone and on October 11 she came from Switzerland to Delhi to meet him. "She stayed with Gurpreet, but two days ago they had a quarrel over some issue following which he strangled her to death," the source said quoting the accused.
Police also said Gurpreet is not cooperating with them and is repeatedly changing his version of events. "Whatever claims he is making are subject to verification," the DCP said.