Delhi court allows four-day police custody of Kailash Hills rape-murder accused

A Delhi court has granted police four days' custody of a man accused of raping and murdering a woman, emphasizing the need for further interrogation.

NEW DELHI

Judicial magistrate first class Deepika Thakran of Saket courts passed the order on a plea moved by additional public prosecutor Akashmani Tripathi, after the end of accused Rahul Meena’s four-day judicial custody. (Shutterstock)

A Delhi court on Friday sent a 23-year-old man, accused of the rape and murder of a woman in south Delhi’s Kailash Hills, to four days of police custody, noting that it was imperative to interrogate the accused further to unearth the complete truth.

Judicial magistrate first class Deepika Thakran of Saket courts passed the order on a plea moved by additional public prosecutor Akashmani Tripathi, after the end of accused Rahul Meena’s four-day judicial custody.

Tripathi, in the plea, said that a gait pattern analysis—a study on the walking movement of a person—needs to be conducted by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to clearly identify the accused through the CCTV footage. “His walking movement needs to be corroborated with the video footage we have gathered as evidence,” he said.

On April 22, Meena, a former employee of the victim’s family, allegedly entered the Kailash Hills home using a hidden key when his former employer and his wife were out. He is accused of strangling their 22-year-old daughter, an IIT graduate, raping and violently beating her. He then allegedly attempted to open a locker using her fingerprints before fleeing with cash and jewellery worth over ₹12 lakh.

The prosecutor alleged that Meena, travelling in a car from Kalkaji towards the Palam railway station after the incident, threw away two robbed mobile phones that needed to be recovered.

The prosecutor said, “The accused is still concealing certain material facts of the case which need to be unearthed through sustained interrogation.”

Meena’s counsel, advocate Gaurav Lawania, opposed the plea, contending that two days in custody would suffice the investigative needs of the police.

The court order said, “For the purpose of investigation, interrogation of the accused is imperative. Considering the submissions of the IO, custodial interrogation of the accused is required to unearth the complete truth and for recovery of two robbed mobile phones, the gait pattern analysis for expert analysis, the court deems it appropriate to grant the instant application”.

Regarding Meena’s claims of being assaulted at the Tihar prison’s heavily guarded entry gate or deori, the jail superintendent informed the court that the inmates responsible were warned and they had shown remorse. The court further directed regular medical check-ups of the accused while in police custody.

In the last hearing, the court directed the jail superintendent to submit a report with a fresh medical examination explaining how the accused suffered injuries to his back while he was lodged in prison.

Lawania told the court that Meena suffered multiple injuries after a few inmates allegedly assaulted him at the prison’s heavily guarded entry gate (deori).

In his first appearance before the magistrate, Meena had told the court that he allegedly “made a mistake” and committed the crime for money.