19-year-old pushed off roof by stalker in North East Delhi dies

A 19-year-old woman died after being thrown off a building by a stalker in Delhi. The accused is on the run, sparking communal tensions.

A 19-year-old woman died on Monday night nearly 12 hours after being thrown off a five-storey building allegedly by a stalker in northeast Delhi’s Ashok Nagar. Police said the victim’s family claimed the accused, a 30-year-old man who had been harassing her for months, disguised himself in a burqa, sneaked into her building, and flung her off the terrace in front of her father.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Taufiq-Ur-Rehman, is on the run. (Representational photo)

The attack, which occurred around 8.30am on Monday, stunned the neighbourhood, triggered demands for justice, and led to a heavy police deployment amid fears of communal tension—the victim was Hindu, and the accused Muslim.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Taufiq-Ur-Rehman, is on the run. Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Ashish Kumar Mishra said a case of attempted murder and criminal intimidation was initially registered, later converted to murder. The accused is originally from Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, and worked as a daily wager in Ashok Nagar’s local market. He had befriended the family years ago, celebrating festivals like Raksha Bandhan with the victim and her two sisters. But for the past three months, her family alleged, he had been stalking her, making unwelcome advances, and threatening her when she rebuffed him.

However, they told police they did not file a police complaint as they said they never imagined the accused would harm anyone in the family, according to a police officer privy to the case.

“We never thought he would go so far as to kill her,” said her father, a private security guard.

He recalled how his daughter had gone to the terrace to switch on the water pump and called her mother saying it wasn’t working. “Minutes later, I heard her scream. I ran up and saw Taufiq strangling her. When I tried to stop him, he pushed me aside and threw her off,” he said. She fell nearly 50 feet, landing on bricks in a vacant lot, he said.

Her family rushed her to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, but she died nearly 12 hours later.

Taufiq fled the scene, evading attempts by the woman’s father and at least two neighbours to catch him. CCTV footage captured him entering and leaving the neighbourhood in the burqa. Police teams are now conducting raids in Delhi and UP to apprehend him.

DCP Mishra said they received a call at around 8.30am on Monday reporting the crime.

The victim’s house was shrouded in grief when HT visited on Tuesday. The victim had completed her schooling and worked at a private firm in Mandoli. Her family—parents and four siblings—had no inkling of the violence to come. Her elder sister said Taufiq was treated like family. “We used to tie rakhi on his wrist. We never imagined he would do this,” she said.

As news of the murder spread, tension gripped the neighbourhood. Ashok Vihar market wore a deserted look Tuesday with all shops shut, and members of right-wing outfits gathered outside the victim’s house to express solidarity with the heartbroken family.

Satender Sharma, general secretary of Agrasen Market Association, Ashok Nagar, said, “Members of the market association held a meeting on Monday evening and it was unanimously decided that we will keep the market shut on Tuesday to show our solidarity towards the family. The association has decided that shopkeepers will not employ any Muslim labourer in their shops.”

“This has never happened here before,” said a local resident. “Now, no one feels safe. Parents are scared to send their daughters outside.”

The victim’s aunt called for the death penalty. “We would have protected her if we knew this is what she was going through,” she said, adding that the young woman had recently started a new job. “She had dreams.”

Police have not ruled out the possibility of additional charges, including under stalking and sections related to crimes against women. Until late evening Tuesday, police personnel remained stationed in the locality. “We are maintaining vigilance to prevent any flare-up,” a senior police official said.