New Delhi: The 22-year-old daughter of an IRS officer, who was raped and murdered in South Delhi, was an IIT Graduate and was preparing for UPSC examinations slated for next month.
She was, in fact, studying when a demon in the shape of a teenaged boy attacked her early morning at her residence yesterday. He hit her in the head, due to which she fell unconscious. He then raped her and subsequently strangulated her to death, using the wire of a phone charger.
Thus, a promising life of a girl, an All-India topper in her class 12 examinations and a dancer with a number of awards, was cut short in a gruesome manner.
Rahul Meena, the 19-year-old accused, had worked at her home till about two months back, before he was fired because of his ill-habits, like taking loans from neighbours.
Yesterday morning, he returned from his native place of Alwar in Rajasthan to commit the ghastly crime.
Before coming to Delhi, Meena allegedly raped the wife of a friend in Alwar the previous night. Then he sold a mobile phone for Rs 10,000 and hired a cab to Delhi for Rs 6,000. He then walked to his former employer, a senior IRS officer’s house, in South Delhi’s Amar Colony.
Familiar person:
Rahul, having worked at the house for eight months, was familiar with the family’s daily routine.
He knew the victim’s parents would be out for their daily gym session, leaving their daughter home alone while keeping the house key in a shoe rack for a maid to get in during their absence.
As recorded in a CCTV camera, Rahul entered the colony at around 6:30 am and went straight to the woman’s study room, a separate one-room structure built on the terrace.
When he stepped into her room, the surprised victim questioned his presence. “Aunty ne bulaya tha kaam se (Aunty called me for some work),” Rahul told her.
Rahul then demanded money. Her refusal led to a heated argument between the two, which soon turned violent.
He hit her with a lamp, resulting in injuries across her face and body.
She fell unconscious and taking advantage of this, Rahul allegedly raped her and then strangulated her with a mobile charging cable.
Bad habits:
Rahul had the ill habits of borrowing money from people in the neighbourhood because of his online gaming addiction.
He has claimed that he come to the house with the intention of theft. However, the locker in the house could only be opened using a thumb impression. He then dragged the victim out of the study room, pulled her down the stairs, and into the room where the locker was kept.
He pressed the woman’s blood-stained finger against a biometric scanner, but it did not open, probably because she had died by then and that is why the biometric scanner did not recognise her thumb impression.
Rahul then abandoned her body and opened the locker using a screwdriver. He took out cash and jewellery and packed them in a bag kept nearby.
Before fleeing the house, he was alert enough to remove his blood-stained clothes and change into the woman’s brother’s trousers. He replaced his shoes with a pair of slippers lying around and fled.
While walking towards the Palam railway station, the accused pretended to be on a call to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
Meena was arrested from a hotel in Delhi’s Dwarka area, where he had been hiding. He is being charged with rape, murder and robbery, police said.
Addiction
The initial investigation has revealed that Rahul was addicted to the online game “Teen Patti” through which he lost and earned money. He would use the money to solicit women to fulfill his sexual desires.
He was also into gambling and would often borrow money from peers.
“He would borrow money from other servants in the vicinity, or from domestic staff working in nearby households, without ever repaying them. This is why he was fired,” Joint Commissioner of Police Vijay Kumar said.
Motive:
According to police sources, during the initial interrogation, Meena claimed that his sole motive was robbery. To avoid suspicion and prevent being traced, he sold three mobile phones – own and those elonging to his family members – before coming to Delhi. A part of the money was used for online betting.
He had also stolen a phone from Alwar victim’s house. The plan was to carry out a robbery in Delhi and bring the money back home to Alwar.
The investigating officers, however, believe that it is possible Meena had come with the intention to rape, considering he had raped another woman less than 24 hours ago.
“Since he had been dismissed from a job here in Delhi, a sense of grudge could also be a contributing factor,” Kumar added.
