Jangpura robbery-murder: Delhi Police arrest 24-year-old in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar

Delhi Police arrested a 24-year-old man in West Bengal for the murder of a retired teacher, Preeti Kumari, during a robbery.

New Delhi

Police at the scene of the crime on Friday. (HT Photo)

The Delhi Police arrested a 24-year-old man in Cooch Behar of West Bengal for allegedly murdering a 69-year-old retired schoolteacher at her residence in southeast Delhi’s Jangpura, after robbing her, officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

Police identified the accused as Ashrif, a resident of Sarai Kale Khan, who skipped town after the incident and was tracked after four days of continuous technical and manual surveillance.

An investigator aware of the matter, requesting anonymity, said, “He earlier lived in the Nizamuddin area but shifted to Sarai Kale Khan recently. He would often visit Jangpura, Sunlight area and nearby areas, in search of jobs and to meet his mother and a friend. Around a month ago, he saw the victim distributing snacks and tea to workers and asked his friend to keep a watch on her. He soon found out the woman had been living alone, and led a ’good’ lifestyle, due to which he decided to commit burglary at night.”

On Friday, 69-year-old Preeti Kumari was found dead inside her bedroom and the house was found completely ransacked. Kumari’s body was found on her bed with her hands tied. Police said that on Sunday they arrested two men, Fardeen and Alam, with the stolen jewellery and Kumari’s mobile phone.

Investigators said that Ashrif had been following Kumari for over a month. He has six criminal cases against him, including snatching, robbery and theft.

Police said that around 3.20am on Friday, Ashrif entered the woman’s house as he knew the main door was always open. “He entered and had planned to steal items and flee, but the woman woke up and saw him. He panicked, hit her, covered her mouth and cornered her into her room. He then smothered her to death,” the investigator said.

Police said that after the incident, Ashrif went to meet his mother in Sunlight Colony.

A second officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “We had caught him in CCTVs near the house and traced his movements. We found his mother, who said she had told him to surrender, but he fled. He met his brother-in-law, Fardeen, and gave him the gold jewellery and met his other friend, Alam, and gave him Kumari’s phone.”

Police said Ashrif first took a bus to Lucknow on Friday night and from there, he took a train on Saturday to West Bengal. “A team had been tracking his movements. He had already been identified due to his dossier. We found he was staying near a lodge and caught him,” said the officer.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Vineet Kumar said, “Following due procedure, he is being brought to Delhi and will be interrogated.”