Strangled, raped, body dragged for fingerprint: Inside Delhi horror and cross-state hunt for accused

A 22-year-old IIT graduate preparing for the civil services was assaulted and killed inside her South Delhi home on Wednesday morning, allegedly by former domestic worker Rahul Meena. Police say the teenager exploited his knowledge of the family’s schedule and the house layout to enter the property and carry out the crime while the victim’s parents were away.

The accused, Rahul Meena, was arrested hours later from a hotel in Dwarka following a multi-state investigation involving CCTV analysis, technical surveillance and interrogation of relatives. Police say the crime unfolded over roughly an hour, beginning shortly after the victim’s parents left for their daily gym session.

Sequence of the attack

According to investigators, Meena had reached Delhi early on Wednesday after allegedly raping a friend’s wife in Rajasthan’s Alwar the previous night. He sold a mobile phone for ₹10,000, hired a cab for ₹6,000 and went straight to the residence of his former employer, a senior IRS officer (Indian Revenue Service).

Police said Meena knew the family kept a house key in a shoe rack for staff use and that the victim’s parents would be at their morning gym session. CCTV footage shows him entering the colony in Kailash Hills around 6:30 a.m. and heading directly to the terrace study room where the victim was preparing for her UPSC exam.

Investigators say Meena attempted to rape her and tried to subdue her by strangling her. When she resisted, he hit her with a lamp and another heavy object, leaving her unconscious. He then raped her, police said, and subsequently strangled her with a phone charger.

Attempted robbery and escape

Detectives believe robbery was also part of his plan. Meena allegedly dragged the victim down from the terrace to the room where the family’s biometric locker was kept. He attempted to unlock the device by pressing her blood-smeared thumb on the scanner, but it did not respond, possibly because she had already died, officers said.

Meena then forced the locker open with a screwdriver and removed cash and jewellery. Investigators estimate that he stole roughly ₹2.5 lakh before preparing to flee.

Before leaving the house, he changed out of his blood-stained clothes, putting on trousers belonging to the victim’s brother and a pair of slippers found inside the home.

How police tracked and arrested the accused

Delhi Police pieced together a complex trail across two states to locate Rahul Meena, who fled after the murder with cash, jewellery and a stolen mobile phone. The breakthrough came when investigators learned that Meena had allegedly raped his friend’s wife in Alwar just hours before travelling to Delhi. After that assault, he stole a dual-SIM mobile phone, while his uncle had already sold three other phones belonging to Meena, his brother and a friend. Officers recovered all three devices from a local shop in Rajgarh, helping them understand his movements in the hours leading up to the Delhi crime.

From the stolen phone, investigators obtained Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDR), revealing that Meena had disabled calling on one SIM and was using the second SIM’s Internet services. Crucially, he had connected the device to WiFi rather than mobile data, a sign he was indoors. Police discovered he was actively using Instagram Messenger to communicate with a cousin living in Gurgaon.

Officers first picked up the cousin, whose interrogation, combined with technical surveillance, led them to pinpoint Meena’s location. The digital activity pointed to a hotel in Delhi’s Dwarka area where Meena had checked in around 10 am on Wednesday. When police teams raided the hotel, they found him hiding inside a room. He was arrested without incident and later charged with rape, murder and robbery.

Online game addiction and possible motive

Police said Meena was addicted to the online game "Teen Patti" and would regularly borrow money from domestic workers in various neighbourhoods, often without returning it. This habit, officers said, led to him being dismissed from the IRS officer’s home as well.

"He would borrow money from other servants in the vicinity, or from domestic staff working in nearby households, without ever repaying them. This is why he was fired," Joint Commissioner of Police Vijay Kumar said.

During initial questioning, Meena claimed he had gone to the house only to steal. Investigators, however, are examining whether he intended to commit sexual assault as well, given the attack he allegedly carried out in Alwar hours earlier. Possible resentment over losing his job may also have played a role, police said.

About the victim

The victim was an alumna of DPS RK Puram, an All-India Class 12 topper, and a graduate of IIT Delhi. She had been preparing for the UPSC exam and had won several dance awards. Her parents had encouraged her to begin an early-morning study routine, and Wednesday was the first day she followed it.