NEW DELHI: Investigators probing the rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman in south Delhi suspect that the accused entered the Kailash Hills apartment using a spare key and went straight to a rooftop study, where he allegedly assaulted the daughter of a former employer before dragging her blood-soaked body downstairs, police sources said on Thursday. The accused, Rahul Meena, has been sent to 4-day custody. Piecing together the sequence of events, police officials described Meena as a man “without remorse”, adding that he has shown little contrition and has repeatedly changed his statement.Police sources told PTI, the 19-year-old accused went straight to the rooftop study after sneaking into the house using a spare key, where he attacked the woman, daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer who was preparing for her civil services examination, raped her, and dragged her blood-soaked body downstairs.According to police sources, the accused has shown no visible remorse during interrogation and has maintained a composed and calm demeanor. He allegedly told investigators that he had gone to the house only to take money and repeatedly stated that “it just happened.” as quoted by news agency PTI. He also reportedly said that “if didi had given the money, this would not have happened,” while responding in a matter-of-fact manner during questioning. He 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 source said. He then allegedly broke open the locker using a screwdriver, stole cash and jewellery, changed his blood-stained clothes and slippers, and fled the scene around 30 minutes before the victim’s parents returned home. Police said the accused was inside the house for about 40 minutes. CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts show Rahul entering the colony around 6.30 am, sneaking into the house at 6.49 am, and leaving at 7.20 am. The incident came to light when the victim’s parents returned home and found her lying in a pool of blood, her clothes torn and belongings scattered. The accused, who had worked as a domestic help in the household for around eight months before being dismissed about a month ago, was familiar with the family’s morning routine, police said. The victim, an engineering graduate from IIT Delhi, was preparing for the civil services examination. “Initially, Rahul told police that he took an ambulance from Alwar to Delhi. But later he 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. Police officials said Meena appears to be a repeat offender and is also suspected of raping a woman in Rajasthan’s Alwar hours before the Delhi crime. “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 on Thursday. According to the officer, Rahul was known to the victim and played online Ludo with her husband.
