New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) New details have emerged in the case of the sexual assault and murder of a 22-year-old woman, the daughter of an IRS officer, following the arrest of the accused by Delhi Police, officials reported on Thursday.

Police arrested Rahul Meena, who is accused of murdering and sexually assaulting the daughter of an IRS officer in the Amar Colony area of the national capital.

According to the preliminary information, the victim was studying in her room when the accused entered the house. She questioned him about how he had managed to enter the premises. The accused told her that her mother had called him inside.

He demanded money from the victim, stating that he urgently needed cash. However, the victim refused to give him any money, which led to a verbal argument between the two, officials said.

The victim started screaming, and the accused warned her not to shout. In a fit of rage, he lost control and struck her repeatedly on the face with a lamp, they added.

The investigators mentioned that the victim sustained multiple bruises on her face and body due to the assault.

After the victim was unconscious due to the head injuries, the accused allegedly raped her. He then dragged her body to another room where the lockers were kept. To open the first locker, he used the victim’s finger to unlock the fingerprint-secured system, officials said.

For the second locker, he allegedly used a screwdriver to break it open.

After collecting jewellery and cash, he placed the valuables into a bag.

The police mentioned that since Meena’s pants were stained with blood, he changed into the trousers belonging to the victim’s brother. He then fled the house and headed towards the railway station.

CCTV footage shows him entering the colony at around 6:30 a.m., and approximately nine minutes later, he entered the house. Nearly an hour later, at around 7:20 a.m., he was seen leaving the premises.

According to police sources, the accused was arrested using three crucial digital clues — a stolen mobile phone, hotel Wi-Fi usage, and Instagram chats — which helped investigators track the accused, identified as Rahul Meena, who had fled after allegedly committing the crime.

Following the incident, multiple police teams were formed, and extensive CCTV footage from nearby areas was examined as part of the probe.

During the investigation, it emerged that the accused was not using his personal mobile phone. Instead, he had stolen a handset during an earlier incident of harassment in Alwar and used it strategically to avoid detection by law enforcement agencies.

Further leads revealed that he had checked into a hotel in Dwarka, where he accessed the internet through the establishment’s Wi-Fi network.

Police officials said that during this period, Rahul remained in touch with a relative residing in Gurugram via Instagram.

By analysing Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDR) and employing digital surveillance techniques, the police were able to pinpoint his location. Additional inputs were gathered after questioning the relative.

According to investigators, Rahul Meena raped the IRS officer’s 22-year-old daughter before strangling her with a phone charger. He then changed his clothes and reportedly fled with around Rs 2.5 lakh stolen from the house.

The incident occurred at the bureaucrat’s residence in southeast Delhi’s Kailash Hills locality on Wednesday morning.

Based on technical evidence and CCTV footage, the accused was tracked down and eventually arrested from a hotel in Dwarka, where he had been hiding.

–IANS

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