Delhi Police arrests Haryana man for killing girlfriend in jealous rage

Delhi: A 25-year-old man from Haryana has been arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend in a rented accommodation in South Delhi, suspecting her of infidelity after he saw pictures of her ex-boyfriend on her phone, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Himanshu, a native of Haryana’s Hansi and a history-sheeter with 14 cases registered against him, was nabbed on Wednesday night after he fled the city, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (South) Ankit Chauhan said.

He was in a relationship with Sakshi Gurung (25) who worked at a private company in Okhla and had been in a rented accommodation in the Kotla Mubarak area for the past year, the officer said.

“She was found in the room with multiple stab injuries on her face and neck. The victim tried to retaliate, but lost consciousness due to deep wounds on her neck,” he said during the press conference at the police headquarters.

On October 7, a PCR call was received about a quarrel in the building and bloodstains on the staircase. Upon receiving information, a police team reached the spot and found the door of a room on the first floor was locked from outside, the DCP said.

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He said that the lock was broken and a woman was found lying in a pool of blood. Crime and forensic teams were called in who recovered beer bottles, bloodstained clothes and a knife handle from the spot.

The woman’s body was sent to AIIMS for postmortem, DCP Chauhan added.

“Preliminary investigation suggest that Sakshi, had lost her mother during the Covid-19 pandemic and her father a few years later. She was living alone in Delhi and had no close relatives in the city,” he said.

Footage of more than 500 CCTV cameras across 50 kilometres around the area was checked that showed a man hurriedly running out of the building around the time of the murder, police said.

“Though the visuals were unclear due to low light, investigators began tracking the suspect’s route across the city. His movements were traced from south Delhi towards outer Delhi and later towards Haryana,” the officer said.

The victim’s mobile phone was also missing, suggesting that the killer had taken it along to mislead the investigation, he added.

The accused trail led the police to Rohtak and then to Hansi in Haryana. After the murder, Himanshu used multiple escape routes, discarded his mobile phone to evade tracking, and hid in Hansi, from where he was arrested.

According to police, Himanshu is a habitual offender with 14 cases including theft, housebreaking, and possession of stolen property, registered against him at Hansi and Bawani Khera police stations.

“Himanshu, a Class 10 dropout, was drawn to the glorified image of gangsters, He frequently followed and shared content related to Haryana-based gangsters on social media and tried to imitate their lifestyle,” DCP Chauhan said.

He took to crime with petty thefts and later began committing repeated burglaries, the officer added.

Police said during interrogation, Himanshu admitted to killing Sakshi. The two met a few months ago in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur and began dating with the accused frequently visiting her in Delhi.

The accused grew increasingly possessive and suspicious about her past relationships, which eventually turned into a jealous rage, police said, adding that three days before the murder, Himanshu had come to stay with Sakshi at her residence.

On the day of the murder, he allegedly saw some old photographs of her with her ex-boyfriend on her phone, which triggered an argument between the couple.

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During the argument, he attacked the victim with a kitchen knife, inflicting deep wounds on her neck and face. Sakshi died on the spot and after which Himanshu ransacked the room to make it look like a robbery, took her phone, and locked the room from outside before fleeing, the DCP said.

Police said Himanshu’s behaviour changed significantly after his brother died in a road accident in 2023. “He became more aggressive and withdrawn and his obsession with gangster culture increased.”