Hours after an arrest was made in the murder case of Congress worker Himani Narwal, CCTV footage emerged showing the accused, identified as Sachin, dragging a black suitcase on the night of the incident.
According to police, the suitcase seen in the footage is the same one in which Himani Narwal’s body was found on Saturday morning, March 1.
The CCTV footage, recorded on February 28 around 10 pm, was captured near Himani’s residence, where she was killed. In the video, Sachin can be seen dragging the large black suitcase through a deserted street.
Police sources said that Sachin, a resident of Bahadurgarh in Haryana, was arrested from the national capital by the Haryana Police on Monday.
During interrogation, he reportedly told the police that he had been in a relationship with Himani for quite some time. He confessed to the crime, admitting that he killed Himani at her ancestral house in Vijay Nagar, Rohtak, where she lived.
The deceased's mobile phone was also recovered from the accused. Additionally, Himani’s diamond and gold rings were found in Sachin’s possession.
On February 28, just before Himani was supposed to attend a Congress meeting, the accused met her, leading to an argument. In a fit of rage, he strangled her.
He reportedly confessed that he was frustrated by her constant demands for money. He told the police that Himani was blackmailing him and had already extorted lakhs of rupees while demanding more.
Sachin told police that after killing her, he stuffed her body into her own suitcase and left it at the bus stand, sources claimed.
Besides her mobile phone, the deceased’s laptop and tablet were also recovered from the spot and sent for forensic examination.
“The accused belongs to a village in Jhajjar district and was known to the deceased, Himani. Prima facie, it seems there was some grudge between them,” said a senior police official.
Additional DGP (Rohtak Range) KK Rao said that the accused frequently visited Himani who was staying alone at her residence in Vijay Nagar, Rohtak.
"On February 27, he stayed with her (Himani) at her residence and the next day they had a heated altercation over a monetary dispute after which he strangulated her to death. The accused tied her hands with her stole and then used the mobile charger wire to strangulate her. During the scuffle, Sachin also sustained a few scratches on his hands,’’ he said.
"The accused used her suitcase to stuff her body into it and also stuffed the blood-stained quilt cover in the same suitcase. He first left her residence on his Scooty and went to his mobile repair shop in Kanaunda village. He returned to her residence late at night and then hired an auto rickshaw and travelled a few kilometers on Rohtak bypass," he added.
"He then got into a bus and then reached near the Sampla bus stand, where he dumped the suitcase containing Himani’s body on the roadside," said Rao.
"There is also no information, as of now, if she was extorting money from him or vice-versa. Also, it is not clear if there was pressure from either of them to get married because the accused is already married, and she was single,” he said.
Himani shot into the limelight after images of her walking with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Yatra went viral.
On Sunday, the Haryana Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Sampla DSP Rajnish Kumar, to probe the murder case.
Her family had initially refused to cremate her body until the killers were arrested. Following the suspect’s arrest, they are now demanding the death penalty for the accused.
"The accused has been arrested, and now we will cremate Himani. We want the death penalty for the accused," said Jatin, Himani's younger brother.
Meanwhile, Himani's mother, Savitha Narwal, claimed that her daughter did not have a boyfriend.
“She used to tell me everything. Everyone knew her, and there is a big difference between a friend and a boyfriend. She kept herself and her friends within limits. She would not do anything wrong to anyone, whether it was a college friend or someone from the party,” she said.
She added, “The last time I spoke to her was on February 27. She told me she would be busy with a party programme the next day, but later, her phone was found switched off.”
Savita also expressed dissatisfaction over the police investigation and demanded the death penalty for the accused, Sachin.
She warned that she would take her own life if Sachin was not sentenced to death.
“I am not satisfied with the police’s actions. I want him (the accused) to get the death penalty. If he is not given the death penalty, I will die by suicide, and the Haryana government and administration will be responsible," she told news agency ANI.
A board of doctors at Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, conducted the post-mortem examination. While the autopsy report is awaited, her body remains in the mortuary as the family has refused to collect it.
Congress leader and party MLA from Rohtak BB Batra said Narwal was a 'very good and active' worker and used to participate in various programmes of the party.
"Those who have committed the crime should be severely punished," Batra said.
(With inputs from Harpreet Bajwa)