New Delhi: A 21-year-old Delhi University student and content creator was allegedly stabbed to death at her home in Tilak Nagar by a man she had known for 18 months, who reportedly continued pursuing her even after she ended their relationship, police said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Aqib alias Imran (26), was allegedly enraged over the woman's interactions with another person and is absconding, police said, adding that he was a drug addict and had a history of self-harm.
The woman, a second-year student at Delhi University's School of Open Learning (SOL), was also a content creator and part-time model. Her elder sister is a model, according to people known to the family.
She was the youngest of four siblings and lived with her parents and siblings in a rented house near Mangla Hospital in West Delhi. Police said the woman met Imran at a gym where he worked as a trainer. He was unemployed and had worked at the gym for about three months before being removed about two months ago over alleged inappropriate behaviour with customers, a gym worker said.
On July 18, the woman had approached a police station and complained that Imran was harassing her, but did not give a formal complaint, police said. Police subsequently sent him to a de-addiction centre. He was released from the de-addiction centre on July 30 after he allegedly harmed himself there, police said.
Police said the woman did not want to continue her relationship with Imran, but he allegedly continued pursuing her.
Police suspect he became enraged over her talking to someone else during the last two months. The two had also met at a hotel on August 20, police said.
On Wednesday evening, Imran allegedly went to the woman's house when she was alone. An argument broke out, following which he allegedly stabbed her multiple times with a knife and fled, police said. CCTV footage showed the accused entering the building around 5:40 pm, a police source said.
Tilak Nagar police station received a PCR call regarding the stabbing of a girl at 7:24 pm, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Hareshwar V Swami said. The house help found the woman lying injured on the second floor of the building and informed her family, following which police were called.
She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival, police said.
A post-mortem examination will ascertain the exact cause and nature of the injuries, police said.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the reported murder, the National Commission for Women has sought an action taken report within seven days. The crime and forensic teams photographed the scene and inspected it, the DCP said.
"A murder case has been registered based on the statement of the deceased's brother, and an investigation is underway. He said his sister knew a boy named Aqib alias Imran, who resides in the nearby area," the officer said. The brother suspects that Aqib committed the crime, he said.
Aman, a friend of the victim, told reporters that he received a call from the woman's elder sister in Chandigarh asking him to reach their home. "She told me that her sister had been stabbed. I called my friends to take her to the hospital. When I reached there, an ambulance was already there. Later, the hospital pronounced her dead," he said. Aman said the accused had been pursuing the woman for a long time and that her family had informed him about the alleged harassment.
Family members of the deceased were seen waiting outside the hospital during the post-mortem examination. A senior police officer said more than 15 teams were working to trace the accused and investigators had received some important inputs regarding his whereabouts.