An 18-year-old student from Delhi University was allegedly lured by her classmate, Arshkrit Singh into Sanjay Van where she was stabbed, strangled and murdered by him. 

Just five days before her 19th birthday, an 18-year-old was reported missing on June 1st and was found murdered at South Delhi’s Mehrauli. The alleged murderer who was the victim’s classmate, Arshkrit Singh has reportedly been arrested. Police reports state that both the victim and the accused were students of Delhi University’s School of Open Learning. 

According to reports, the victim left her residence at Jahangirpuri for classes on Sunday morning but did not return home. 

She had last informed her mother around noon that she would be back soon. When she failed to return, her family began searching for her,

a senior police officer reported.

Later that day, the family of the victim received a call from the accused’s father who claimed that the victim had attacked Arshkrit with a knife that led to his hospitalisation in Pitampura. This prompted the victim’s parents to file a complaint with the police and register a kidnapping case. 

Based on suspicion and past altercations between the victim and Arshkrit, the complainant alleged that he may have abducted her,

a police officer told the Deccan Herald, 

Further investigation of CCTV footage led the police to Singh who was arrested. On further questioning, he revealed that he had lured the victim to a secluded area of Sanjay Van where he had stabbed and strangled her to death and attempted to burn her body. 

After the attack, he tried to burn the body. He sustained minor injuries during the stabbing and fled to the hospital for treatment. The body was discovered based on his information,

stated the Deputy Commission of Police (South Delhi), Ankit Chauhan.

In a conversation with Times of India, the victim’s family revealed that Singh had been harassing the victim, his daughter for months after she had cut off all ties with him. They further denied her being in a relationship with Singh and stated that they met at a party where they became friends. The victim’s father said, 

We advised both of them not to meet, yet the youth would come to my house every couple of months to start arguments. We informed his parents too. Though he apologised, the harassment continued. 

He further added that Singh had allegedly disrupted his daughter’s Korean language class by starting an argument and twisting her hand. In conversation with the Indian Express, the victim’s sister revealed, 

He met my mother near the gurdwara. When my mother confronted him about his coercive behaviour, he grabbed my mother’s hand and tried to snatch my sister’s phone from her

She further added,

He used to often threaten my sister with suicide, which would scare both her and my mother.

Shocking details regarding the case have been revealed by the police who claim that Singh used a fake social media profile of someone the victim knew to lure her to Sanjay Van. Singh was seen entering the forested area at around 8:30 in the morning and the victim was located there at around 10 AM. Leading her to an isolated spot, Singh stabbed the victim multiple times, strangled her and tried to burn her body. He was later spotted exiting the area in the afternoon. 

On Sunday, they sat and talked about their relationship for almost two hours before he killed her… she had apparently told him that she was betrothed to someone else, which was when the situation escalated,

a senior police officer revealed.

In conversation with the Indian Express, Singh’s neighbours expressed disbelief at the accusations.

Alleged statements by the accused reveal that he suspected that the girl was speaking to other boys which led to frequent arguments and ultimately led to him planning the murder. While investigations are currently underway to determine the actual motive, the murder weapon has been found and the accused has been reportedly booked under Section 103(1) for murder and Section 61(2) for criminal conspiracy.

Read also: Minor Girl Rescued After Gang Rape Near Moolchand, Alleged Police Inaction

Image Credit: Hindustan Times

Aaratrika Ghosh

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