Ex-servant accused of killing IRS officer's daughter in Delhi arrested, was in debt

Rahul Meena, 23, was caught from the Dwarka region of Delhi. Police said he was staying at a hotel and was addicted to online games besides being drowned in debts.

In Short

• Accused strangled bureaucrat's daughter at Delhi home using a charging cable
• He worked as servant at victim's home, was fired due to financial misconduct claims
• He knew house layout, passcodes and where spare keys were kept for servants

The 23-year-old former servant, who has been accused of strangling an IRS officer's daughter at her Delhi home, has been arrested. Rahul Meena, a native of Rajasthan's Alwar, was caught from the Dwarka area of the national capital.

The teenager was staying at a hotel, following the gruesome murder that he committed early Wednesday morning. It is also alleged that he raped the victim and robbed the house after killing her before fleeing the scene. Police have registered a case of rape, murder, and robbery against Meena. Furthermore, the stolen items have been recovered from him.

According to police sources, Meena was addicted to online games and drowned in heavy debts.

Two pieces of CCTV footage have surfaced following the incident, which happened when the parents of the victim were at the gym for their daily sessions.

One video shows Meena entering the house around 6.28 am, and the second shows him leaving the house – nearly an hour later – at 7.22 am.

Sources revealed that Meena changed clothes after the incident and fled to a nearby park. This is indicated in the two surveillance clips. When he enters the house, he is seen wearing a yellow shirt and black pants, while in the other video, he wears white pants and what appears to be a full-sleeve yellow T-shirt. Meena is also seen carrying a black backpack while exiting the bureaucrat's home in upscale Kailash Hills.

The body of the 22-year-old victim, an engineering graduate and an UPSC aspirant, was found lying on the floor with some items scattered across the floor. Her parents discovered the horrifying scene after coming back home. Sources said that she had put up a strong fight, after which the accused allegedly struck her on the head with a stick, causing blunt force trauma. Then, he strangled her with a charging cable.

There were no signs of forced entry into the house. Police believe Meena may have been waiting and entered the place the moment the victim's parents left for the gym.

Sources revealed that the house has high security, with locks on each floor as well as on the lift. To get to the main section of the house where the victim was, at least four locks were needed to be unlocked. And three of these locks could be opened using passcodes. Meena was familiar with the layout of the house and also knew the codes. It has also been indicated that he knew where spare keys for servants were placed, which he used to enter the house.

Meena was dismissed around six weeks ago after working at the house for nearly eight months following alleged complaints of financial misconduct. Before being caught, when a team of Delhi Police went to his home in Alwar, they found out that he was involved in a separate molestation incident on Tuesday night. Police believed that he headed to Delhi right after the incident.

- Ends
(With inputs from Ashutosh Kumar)