New Delhi | He raped a woman whose husband he knew in Alwar at night, went to Delhi the next morning, sneaked into a house he had worked in and headed straight to the rooftop study where he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed the daughter of his former employer.
That’s how the horror story proceeded, police said on Thursday following initial investigations into the rape and murder of the 22-year-old daughter of an Indian Revenue Service officer in south Delhi’s upscale Kailash Hills.
Piecing together the chilling details of the Wednesday morning murder, police officials said Rahul Meena is a man without remorse, a 19-year-old who allegedly attacked two women back to back and brutally killed one of them.
Meena, who was arrested on Wednesday and produced before court on Thursday, is showing little signs of contrition and has changed his statement repeatedly, officials privy to his interrogation said.
The tone was different in court.
“Mujhse apradh ho gaya... Galti ho gayi (I committed a crime, a mistake),” the teen domestic help said before Judicial Magistrate Deepika Thakaran who allowed the Delhi Police's plea seeking four days of custodial interrogation.
Meena had worked with the IRS officer’s family for eight months and had been sacked a month ago for financial wrongdoings.
According to police sources, he not just knew the layout of the apartment but also the morning routine of the young woman’s parents who had left early morning for the gym.
He entered the house using a spare key and went straight to the study where he knew he would find their daughter, an IIT graduate preparing for the civil services exams. He attacked her and then dragged her blood-soaked body down the stairs.
Meena allegedly strangled the victim with a mobile phone charging cable before hitting her with a heavy object, rendering her unconscious.
"The investigation suggests that the accused raped the victim while she was still unconscious. He then dragged her down the stairs to another room where a locker was kept, and attempted to open the biometric lock using her fingerprint, but it did not open," a police official said.
He then broke the locker open using a screwdriver, stole cash and jewellery, changed his blood-stained clothes and slippers and fled the scene, about 30 minutes before the victim's parents returned home.
According to police, the accused was inside the house for about 30 minutes. CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts show that Meena entered the colony around 6.30 am, sneaked into the house at 6.49 am and left at 7.20 am.
The killing, which exposes security gaps even in gated localities, came to light when the victim's parents returned home and found her lying in a pool of blood, with her clothes torn and her belongings scattered all around.
Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of the Forensic Department at AIIMS-Delhi, said the victim was taken to the Fortis Escorts Hospital in Okhla where she was declared brought dead.
The attack was brutal.
The post-mortem report showed multiple abrasions and abraded contusions on both arms, hands and legs, besides a nasal-bone fracture.
Gupta said the external examination revealed multiple injuries consistent with resistance. A dissection of the neck showed extensive damage to the muscles. All internal organs were found congested, consistent with asphyxial death due to strangulation.
"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," Gupta said.
Meena’s interrogation showed that he has a "perverted mindset", added a police official.
During his four days in Delhi Police custody, police will recreate the entire crime scene from his starting point in Alwar to Kailash Hills and then on to a hotel in Dwarka 25 km away where he was staying. He was also arrested from there.
"The accused is likely to be taken to the victim's house. He will also be taken to Alwar as another rape case is registered against him there," the official said.
After the crime, he took an autorickshaw to the Dwarka hotel he had booked using a mobile phone.
"The accused took an autorickshaw. The auto was traced and the driver was questioned," the police official said.
Police will also recover the phone of the victim which the accused allegedly took with him.
"Phone, jewellery, cash and many other things to be recovered from him. So far, investigation suggests that he was not in contact with any other person. During his custody police will also request the forensic department for his DNA profile. We have a strong case against the accused and we are also leaving no stone unturned so the accused get strict punishment," the official said.
Meena initially told police he took an ambulance from Alwar to Delhi. He later changed his statement and said he booked a car for Rs 5,000 and left without paying the driver after reaching Delhi.
"Our teams are working to ascertain the exact chain of events, both in Rajasthan and Delhi. We are also scanning the trail of CCTV footage from the crime scene to the hotel in Dwarka from where Rahul was arrested," the source said.
The night before, Meena raped another woman in Rajasthan’s Alwar town.
"A special team has been formed to probe the rape charge against Rahul Meena here. We have detained over half a dozen people for questioning," Alwar SP Sudhir Chaudhary said.
According to the official, Meena was known to the victim and played online Ludo with her husband.
On Wednesday, the woman lodged a complaint at the Rajgarh police station in Alwar district alleging that Meena raped her on Tuesday night.
The victim’s husband alleged that he had gone to attend a wedding with the accused on Tuesday evening, where he spent the night. However, Meena returned to the village, went to his friend's home and allegedly assaulted the wife.
Meena also allegedly threatened to kill the woman if she revealed her ordeal to anyone, according to the complaint.
“The survivor has undergone a medical examination. We are sharing all the inputs with Delhi Police to fast-track the investigation,” Chaudhary said.