Three people were arrested for allegedly killing a former Delhi Police woman constable, who went missing two years ago, and deceiving her family into believing that she was alive, police said on Sunday (October 1).
Surender Singh (42), who is presently serving as Delhi Police constable, allegedly killed the 28-year-old woman constable for refusing to marry him. Singh then served as constable PCR van driver, a senior police officer said.
Singh's brother-in-law Ravin (26) and Rajpal (33) helped him in hiding the crime, the officer said.
The police recovered some skeletal remains from the Pushta area of Burari and sent them for the DNA test to ascertain if they belong to the victim woman, the officer said.
The woman had stepped down from her post in Delhi Police after she was selected as a Sub-Inspector in Uttar Pradesh Police. She stayed a a paying guest in the Mukherjee Nagar area in the national capital.
A missing report of the woman was filed at the Mukherjee Nagar police station on October 20, 2021. According to her family, she was missing since September 8, 2021.
“Despite efforts by police, the former woman constable could not be traced. Based on the complaint of the victim's mother who suspected her daughter was kidnapped, charges of abduction were added to the FIR on April 12, 2023 and an in-depth investigation was ordered into the case by the Delhi Commissioner of Police,” Special CP (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said.
Police arrest accused
Rajpal was first arrested after which Ravin was nabbed on his instance. Singh, who was the prime accused, was arrested on September 30, the official said.
During interrogation, Singh told the police that he had a heated argument with the woman on September 8, 2021, following which he took her to Burari Pushta, where he first strangled her and then drowned her in a nullah near Pushta, the DCP said.
He sought his brother-in-law Ravin’s assistance to show that she was alive. Ravin used to call the victim's family from different phone numbers and identified himself as Arvind. He told them he had got married to the woman, he added.
In an attempt to misguide the investigation, he dropped copies of the victim's identity proofs at various places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
He called the woman's parents from these places and told them they were living happily, the DCP said.
Rajpal had helped Ravin in securing a SIM card using fake documents, he added.
The trio have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 365 (kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the police said.
(With PTI inputs)