Delhi: Man kills girlfriend, makes it appear as suicide; arrested

The victim, Sania Shahid, was a maths and science tuition teacher to primary school students. The accused, Shakir Saleem, works as a delivery executive

A 26-year-old man murdered his 22-year-old girlfriend inside her house in northwest Delhi on Friday, then manipulated the crime scene to make it appear as if she died by suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan, police said, adding that the man was arrested on Saturday.

Shakir Saleem killed Sania Shahid because he suspected she was cheating on him, said police. (Representational image)

The incident took place at a two-storey house in Bharat Nagar. The victim was identified as Sania Shahid, who gave maths and science tuition to primary school students at her home. The accused, Shakir Saleem, works as a delivery executive.

On Friday morning, Shahid’s parents found her dead on her bed with a dupatta around her neck and a second dupatta hanging from the ceiling fan. The two did not suspect any foul play and believed their daughter had died by suicide, and informed the police at 9am, said investigators.

A police team arrived and took Shahid’s body for a routine autopsy. However, they were in for a surprise when the autopsy discovered that the ligature mark on Shahid’s neck was not deep enough for a death by hanging. “The doctors told us that in suicide cases, the neck injuries are more severe and deeper. This was not the case,” said a senior police officer.

The police then decided to take another look at the victim’s bedroom.

“While a dupatta was tied around her neck and another dupatta was on the fan, we found that the ends of the two dupattas were untied. This was suspicious. We called forensic and crime teams to look at the crime scene and check CCTVs near the house,” said Bhisham Singh, deputy commissioner of police (northwest).

Police started questioning the victim’s family members and neighbours. Then they learnt from CCTV footage that there was a break-in at the house around the suspected time of the incident.

“CCTV footage from the neighbourhood showed a man entering the house from an unlocked door on the terrace. The door led to a staircase that led down to where the occupants live. We suspect that the man went to her room, strangulated her and fled. Based on further CCTV analysis and local enquiry, Saleem was arrested from his house in Om Nagar, where he lives with his parents,” added Singh.

Police said that the man scaled a pipeline on the wall of the adjacent house, got on its terrace, and then jumped on to the terrace of the victim’s house.

Police interrogated Saleem during which he allegedly confessed to killing Shahid. Police learnt that Saleem was the victim’s boyfriend and that the two were dating for five years.

“Saleem said that three months ago, he started suspecting that Shahid was cheating on him. He was angry and last month he decided to murder her. On Friday, he broke into her house when everybody was asleep and went to her room. We suspect he strangulated her in her sleep and then tried to stage it as a death by suicide by climbing on a stool and tying a dupatta to the fan,” said a second officer.