With the arrest of two persons, police claimed to have cracked the cases of brutal murder of two women roommates in Munirka of south Delhi and rejected the reports that a 'serial killer' is on the prowl.
The two women were killed allegedly by persons known to them. Of the four accused in the case one is the husband of one of the victims. He is still absconding, police said today.
The Bodies of two women were found in Vasant Vihar and Munirka areas of the national capital on November 18 and 25 respectively.
One of the body, wrapped in a polythene sheet, was found outside a temple in Vasant Vihar on November 18 while a headless body was found in a sewer in Munirka village on November 25.
Besides these two bodies, some more bodies were found with similar injury marks at the same span of time that hinted towards the possibility of a serial killer.
However, R P Upadhyay, Joint Commissioner of Police (Southeast) said, "Barring these two murders, all the other incidents are unconnected and standalone occurrences. I will like to officially deny the serial killer theory. They were unfortunate incidents and we are investigating the other cases."
Police got clues to identify the headless body through a designer tattoo, located at the rear lower portion of the torso and another tattoo of three 'stars' engraved on its right hand wrist, he said.
On November 26, the headless body was identified by the former boyfriend of the victim.
"She was identified as Sushma Rai, a resident of Assam. He told police that Rai's relative were worried about her safety as she wasn't able to reach her phone," he said.
Rai's call detail records were scanned and police were able to zero-in upon a group of persons with whom she had been in contact frequently in the days preceding her death, said Upadhyay.
Rai's ex-boyfriend led the police to her rented accommodation but it emerged that she was not murdered at her home.
Police got to know that Rai was living with another woman who had been missing for over 10 days. A woman was found who identified the victim, whose body was found on November 18, as Nayesha, a native of Nepal, the officer said.
On checking their call details, police came to know that both the victims, who stayed together, were freelance beauticians.
The victims were in touch with a group of persons,
identified as Jeevan, Govind and Arjun, who provided logistical and financial support to the duo and many other similarly-placed people who came here for better economic prospects, said the officer.
"It was learnt that trio had rented several accommodations within south Delhi. The examination of several landlords of these rented buildings revealed that the trio had left Munirka on November 25 evening," he said.
In one of the rented accommodations, blood-stained clothes were found that confirmed police's doubts about the involvement of the trio in the murders.
Yesterday, police received information about Jeevan reaching Anand Vihar ISBT for boarding a Delhi-Sonauli bus which would take him to Indo-Nepal International Border, Upadhyay said, adding a trap was laid and he was apprehended.
"Jeevan told police that Mini Sangma, a resident of Shillong and a spa worker, was in a live-in relationship with Arjun and taking care of his kids, from an earlier marriage. However, Arjun, who used to safekeep Rai's savings, knew the victim had a liking for him.
"A day after Karwa Chauth, he clandestinely married Rai at Kalkaji Mandir and convinced her that from now onwards, their assets and liabilities were common and she shouldn't be asking for her dues which came to around Rs 2.5-3 lakh," the officer said.
Later Rai sent wedding pictures to Mini on Whatsapp to make her jealous and that enraged Mini to the extent that the latter hatched a plan to get Rai killed, he said.
Mini instigated the trio and also put a condition before Arjun asking him to choose between her and Rai.
A plan was hatched in East Delhi and Arjun murdered Sushma on the intervening night of November 16 and 17, beheaded her and dumped one of the parts in a sewer.
They also decided to eliminate Nayesha since she knew about Arjun and Rai's marriage and had also been asking the latter to have a court marriage.
"The trio thought that she might spill the beans and they killed her also. After the murders, it was decided that Arjun and Govind will leave for Nepal while Jeevan would stay back to monitor the situation.
"The trio had plans to shift to a southern city. Since Mini was not present at the spot of the murders, she also stayed back in Delhi and had plans to go to the southern city in a few days' time," said the officer.
Mini was nabbed this morning from a guest house and led police to the khukhri and chopper that were used by the trio in the murders.
Police is working to arrest Arjun and Govind, who are suspected to be in Nepal and also recover the missing head, the officer added.
