Two years after Delhi Police ex-constable went missing, three arrested for her murder

New Delhi: Two years after a former Delhi Police woman constable went missing, police have arrested three men for allegedly killing her and deceiving her family into believing that she was alive, police said on Sunday.

Surender Singh (42), currently posted as head constable with Delhi Police, had an extra-marital affair with the woman and killed her after she refused to give in to his demands. His brother-in-law Ravin (26) and Rajpal (33) helped him in hiding the crime, said a senior police officer.

The police recovered the skeletal remains of the victim from the Pushta area of Burari and sent them for DNA profiling to ascertain if they belong to the woman, the officer said.

The victim had resigned from Delhi Police after she was selected as a Sub-Inspector in Uttar Pradesh Police. She was meanwhile staying as a paying guest in the Mukherjee Nagar area here.

A missing report of the 28-year-old woman was lodged at the Mukherjee Nagar police station on October 20, 2021. Her family alleged that she had been missing since September 8, 2021.

Despite efforts by police, the former woman constable could not be traced, Special CP (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said.

Based on the complaint of the victim’s mother who suspected her daughter was kidnapped, charges of abduction were added to the FIR on April 12, 2023, and an in-depth investigation was ordered into the case by the Delhi Commissioner of Police, Yadav said.

The police arrested Rajpal first and nabbed Ravin on his instance. Singh, the prime accused, was finally arrested on September 30, he added.

During interrogation, Singh told the police that he had a heated argument with the woman on September 8, 2021, following which he took her to Burari Pushta, where he first strangled her and then drowned her in a nullah near Pushta, the DCP said.

To show that the victim was alive, Singh took his brother-in-law Ravin’s help. Ravin used to call the victim’s family from different phone numbers and identified himself as Arvind. He told them he had got married to the woman, he added.

To misguide the investigation, he dropped copies of the victim’s identity proofs at various places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. He called the woman’s parents from these places and told them they were living happily, the DCP said.

Rajpal had helped Ravin in securing a SIM card using fake documents, he added.

The trio have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 365 (kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the police said.