A day after a 25-year-old woman was found dead under a car in Greater Noida’s Beta 2, police said they have arrested a 28-year-old stalker for allegedly strangling her after she repeatedly rejected his advances, police said on Wednesday, adding that they are also investigating allegations of rape.
The suspect, identified as Ankit Kumar, was apprehended following a brief gunfight late Tuesday, police said. He is a married fruit-seller who police said has two minor children.
The victim, a call centre employee from Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh who lived with her younger brother in Beta 2, was found dead under a car barely 50 meters from her home on Monday morning. Her family alleged she was also raped, citing that her clothes were found disarranged. Police said they are investigating the sexual assault allegation.
According to additional deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Sudhir Kumar, the suspect operated a fruit shop near the woman’s residence and had become obsessed with her over the past year. “When he asked her out and she refused, Kumar began pressuring her,” the ADCP said.
After a day of investigation, police tracked Kumar after scanning CCTV surveillance on Tuesday.
“After his arrest, Kumar told us that he came in contact with a woman around a year back, when she used to buy fruits from him,” said ADCP Kumar, adding, “He told us that he had become obsessed with her after having a brief conversation with her. When he asked her out and she refused, Kumar began pressuring her.”
“After buying vegetables on Tuesday, when the woman was walking towards her home, he started following her and pressured her again. When she ignored him, he said he strangled her between two parked cars and dragged her body under a car,” the officer stated.
The victim’s sister-in-law told HT the family was unaware of any harassment. “We don’t know if Kumar was harassing her for long. She never mentioned it to us,” she said.
“We came to know about the case on Monday around 3am, when I received a call informing me that she did not reach home,” the deceased’s sister-in-law said. “At around 7 am, we were informed that her body was spotted under a car,” she said, adding that when they discovered the body, the victim’s clothes were below her waist and ligature marks were visible on her neck.
A case under Section 103 (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at Beta 2 police station. Authorities are awaiting the post-mortem report to determine if sexual assault occurred. The victim was cremated Tuesday after a panel post-mortem.
Asked about the family’s allegation, assistant commissioner of police Hemant Upadhyay noted the disarranged clothing could have resulted from the “body being dragged” under the car.