NEW DELHI: The probe into the rape-murder of the 22-year-old daughter of a senior IRS officer in south Delhi’s Kailash Hills has revealed robbery as the main motive of the accused, while post-mortem findings have confirmed death due to strangulation following a violent sexual assault, bringing together evidence about the sequence and brutality of the crime.
The accused, Rahul Meena, was seen exiting the building, holding his phone to his ear, appearing to be in conversation. However, police said he was not calling anyone and had deliberately done so to avoid interaction with people familiar to him in the locality. Police have taken him into custody and will recreate the sequence while verifying all claims.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning, when the victim, an IIT-Delhi graduate preparing for the UPSC exam, was alone at home because her parents had gone to the gym. When they returned around 8 am, they found her lying unconscious on the floor and rushed her to hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Police were informed thereafter.
Sources said the victim was first raped and then killed. The accused allegedly attacked her repeatedly on the head with a lamp rod, dragged her by her legs to a locker, and attempted to force her fingers onto the digital lock. When it did not open, he broke it and stole approximately `2.5 lakh in cash and jewellery worth several lakhs. He then changed his bloodstained clothes before fleeing.
“The preliminary investigation has found that his only intention was to take the money to return the debt. Everything else was the circumstantial happenings to achieve this motive. He was not calling anyone as he exited the building. He was holding the phone to deceive people so that no one would talk to him, as he knows most of the servants of that area,” sources stated.
Post-mortem findings revealed multiple abrasions and abraded contusions on the arms, hands and legs, along with facial lacerations and a nasal-bone fracture indicating blunt-force impact and resistance.
Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of the Forensic Department at AIIMS-Delhi, said the external examination revealed multiple injuries consistent with resistance. “In addition, multiple lacerations accompanied by abrasions were found on the face, along with a fracture of the nasal bone, suggesting blunt-force impact,” he said.
“The findings show death due to strangulation following assault. The preserved swabs and nail scrapings have been sent for further analysis to ascertain whether rape took place,” he added.
Police said the victim was allegedly strangled with a mobile phone charging wire and that samples, including viscera, ligature material with tape lift, nail scrapings, blood and swabs have been preserved for forensic analysis.