The 19-year-old former household employee who allegedly raped and killed a 22-year-old woman in south Delhi’s Kailash Hills on Wednesday. He allegedly dragged the victim down from the fourth floor to the third floor in an unsuccessful attempt to unlock a fingerprint-access locker, investigators aware of the case details said on Thursday.
He was arrested by the Delhi Police on Wednesday from an OYO hotel in the Dwarka area of Delhi. Following his arrest, the Saket Court remanded him to four-day police custody for further interrogation.
The accused, who is originally from Rajasthan, has a criminal history and was wanted for sexually assaulting another woman Tuesday night. He had been working in the South Delhi household and gained entry after exploiting a narrow window when her parents stepped out in the morning to go to the gym.
As per the investigators, Meena entered the house at 6.39 am using a smart key. He knew that the family kept the keys near the shoe rack.
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How Did He Execute The Crime
According to Meena's statement, the victim was studying when he entered her room. He claimed that he directly demanded money to pay off debts. However, she refused to give money and asked him to leave. The victim attempted to call her father. Meena pressed her throat and then strangled her using a charger. He then thrashed her with a water bottle and a lamp. The victim then became unconscious.
Meena then raped the victim when she was in an unconscious state. Afterwards, he dragged her down and attempted to open the locker. "He knew that the lock could only be opened using the fingerprints of the four family members. He then tried to use her finger to open the lock but failed. Therefore, he broke it open using a heavy object,” HT quoted an official as saying.
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The accused stole around Rs 1.5-2 lakh in cash and jewellery worth around Rs 10 lakh in a black backpack he found in the house and left. He told police he changed his bloodstained trousers and shoes.
What did the Postmortem report say?
According to the postmortem report, the victim died due to the strangulation. As per the officials, the body had multiple external injuries, including abrasions and contusions on both arms, hands, and legs, along with multiple lacerations and abrasions on the face and a fracture of the nasal bone.
When the neck was dissected, both of the thyroid cartilage's horns were broken and several muscles had intramuscular hemorrhages. The official stated, "The deceased died of strangulation following assault." To determine whether sexual assault had taken place, several samples have been sent for forensic analysis, the report said.
Meena Is A Wanted Criminal In Alwar
According to the police, the accused had also allegedly sexually assaulted his friend's wife, and then she screamed. After the villagers gathered, Meena, to save himself, "ran atop a hill called ‘Kali Pahari’ and hid there for the next two and a half hours until the villagers left,” an official said.
When it was safe to do so, he descended, stole a bicycle, and went to a wedding that he allegedly gatecrashed "to have dinner" at one in the morning. After getting a ride on a motorcycle, he arrived at the highway leading to Delhi and waited beside a gas station. Around 2 a.m., he rented a van, arrived in Kailash Hills at 5.30 a.m., and waited for the victim's parents to depart before entering at 6.39 a.m.
The Southeast District Police had already apprehended Meena when a police squad used sophisticated surveillance to locate him. About Rs 7,000 of the stolen money was spent by the accused; the remaining amount has been found. Meena was taken into custody at a Dwarka hotel at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the police.