New Delhi: A juvenile who allegedly raped a woman and strangled her to death at her residence in northwest Delhi's Mukundpur area has been apprehended, police said on Monday.
The juvenile's friend and accomplice in the crime, identified as Abhimanyu (22), is still at large, said DCP (northwest) Vijay Singh.
"Both accused live in the same neighbourhood and the minor boy knew that the woman was alone at home. The duo, allegedly sexually assaulted the woman even after she was dead and her body was dumped at a forested area in Bhalswa Dairy area," said a senior police official.
The woman was pursuing a vocational course in fashion designing. Her brothers live abroad and parents had gone to their native village in UP, leaving her alone for a few days, said the official.
According to the police, the incident took place on the wee hours of Saturday when the accused duo went to the woman's residence and gained access in the premises by scaling the wall of the adjacent terrace.
They found the woman sleeping and allegedly used chloroform to make her unconscious, while they allegedly raped her. The woman suddenly gained consciousness and resisted the assault, for which one of the accused allegedly strangled her to death.
Once they realised that the woman was dead, they lifted it up and put it in the mini-truck in which they had come. They drove to a forested area around 2-km away from the woman's residence and dumped the body there.
The duo again sexually assaulted the body there and fled from the spot. The woman's parents started calling her up in the morning and when she did not take the calls, they asked neighbours to check, said police.
Even when the neighbours could not trace her, they informed her relatives in Delhi, said a senior police official. Later, a missing complaint was registered, said police. It was in the evening that some locals found her semi-naked body and raised an alarm.
In the initial phase of the investigation, the police had zeroed in on the juvenile, but he allegedly managed to mislead cops, delaying the probe. The mini-truck used in the crime and the woman's mobile phone have been recovered, police said.
Abhimanyu's relatives are being questioned and the police are searching his potential whereabouts, police added.
