Woman murdered, body found inside bed box in Delhi; 3 including lover arrested

NEW DELHI: A 35-year-old woman was allegedly murdered and her body was stuffed inside a double-bed storage box at a paying guest (PG) accommodation in outer Delhi's Mangolpuri.

A 22-year-old resident of Mangolpuri, Deepak, with whom the woman was allegedly in a relationship, along with two of his relatives, was arrested.

A PCR call went to police on Monday evening that reported that a women’s body was found in the PG facility in the Patthar Market area of Mangolpuri.

The PG is reportedly run by a 31-year-old man, Amarjeet. Police found strangulation marks on the woman's neck and a visible injury on the forehead. Crime and FSL teams inspected the spot and collected samples for investigation.

The woman, married and a mother of three, was from Mangolpuri. During investigation, police found out about her relationship with Deepak, who has a chicken shop..

"On Monday, the woman and the accused met at the PG around 4.30 pm and remained there for about an hour," said DCP (outer) Vikram Singh. "After the accused left the premises, the PG owner noticed suspicious circumstances and alerted the police."

Police tracked down and arrested Deepak along with his relatives, identified as Surendra and Joginder. Preliminary investigation suggests that an argument broke out between the couple when they met, which escalated into violence. While Deepak allegedly committed the crime, the co-accused are believed to have been present as accomplices.

Police found CCTV footage showing them together, and co-accused Surendra and Joginder allegedly assisted in concealing and tampering with evidence.

The woman's family told the media that they tried to convince her not to be in the relationship. However, they reportedly continued meeting each other on and off. On the day of the incident, she reportedly told her family at home that she was going to drop her child off at tuition. The woman’s husband works in a shoe factory.

While speaking to the media, the family alleged that Deepak was blackmailing her using objectionable videos. However, a senior police officer said that no such material has been foundso far.

Police are probing whether the quarrel stemmed from a possible monetary dispute and whether the alleged murder was premeditated. The blood of the accused was sent for testing to probe if they were consuming alcohol at the time of the incident.

A case has been registered under Sections 103 (murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 3 (5) (common intention) of BNS at Mangolpuri police station.