Greater Noida: Man booked for killing 28-year-old interior designer, on the run

The suspect -- Arjun (whose sister was married to the victim’s cousin last year), 30 -- allegedly slit the throat of victim, inflicted multiple wounds on her body, and escaped with her cellphone, ₹4 lakh cash and gold jewellery

Police have booked a man for allegedly robbing and killing a 28-year-old interior designer in Paramount Golf Foreste Villas in Greater Noida’s Sector Zeta 1 on Wednesday evening, officials said on Thursday.

Police conducted a search and recovered the victim’s cellphone and gold jewellery from the suspect’s house, officials said on Thursday. (Sourced)

The victim -- identified as Pinky Chauhan -- lived with her father Kalu Ram Chauhan, 55, mother Maya Devi, 52, and brother Vishal Chauhan, 25, in the Greater Noida house where the crime took place.

The suspect -- Arjun (whose sister was married to the victim’s cousin last year), 30 -- allegedly slit the throat of Pinky, inflicted multiple wounds on her body, and escaped with her cellphone, ₹4 lakh cash and gold jewellery. Police have detained Arjun’s father (details not shared) in the case.

According to Pappu Namberdar, Pinky’s maternal uncle, the victim’s father is in the transport business in Noida; and originally from Noida’s Chhalera village, the Chauhans had shifted to their new home in Greater Noida last year.

On Wednesday afternoon, Pinky’s parents had gone out shopping, and her brother was in his office. “The family had planned a pooja and a havan on Thursday. When Pinky’s parents returned home around 9pm, the main door of the house was locked from inside and they knocked on the door several times but did not get any response from Pinky,” Namberdar said, adding that the victim’s parents thought that she was sleeping.

“Her parents used another set of keys they were carrying to unlock the door, and on entering the house, found Pinky’s lying in a pool of blood, with multiple wounds on her neck and body. They immediately informed the police,” he said.

Harish Chander, deputy commissioner of police, Noida Central, said that a police team is investigating the matter. “We scanned CCTV footage from nearby areas and saw the suspect -- Arjun -- entering Pinky’s house that day. Since the door had an automatic lock, it got locked from inside after the suspect left... We conducted a search and recovered the victim’s cellphone and jewellery from Arjun’s house, and detained his father. His scooter, used in the crime, has also been recovered from his house. Prima facie, it appears that he committed the crime,” Chander said.

According to the police, it seems that Arjun and Pinky were known to each other.

A case has been registered against the suspect under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 (murder) at the Surajpur police station on Thursday.

One of Pinky’s cousins, Gajendra Singh Chauhan, said that the family was not aware of Arjun and Pinky’s friendship. “Pinky has three uncles and one of her cousins got married to Arjun’s sister last year. They may have been acquaintances, but we are not aware of their friendship,” he said.