Flatmate killed doctor in a fit of rage

The woman, 25-year-old Dr Garima Mishra, was found dead with multiple stab wounds at her rented apartment by her cousin, Shivendra Pandey, and landlord, Gautam Khurana, around 10.30pm Tuesday.

Three days after a 25-year-old doctor was found murdered at her flat in west Delhi’s Ranjit Nagar, police Friday said they had arrested her flatmate, also a doctor, for “strangling” her and “slitting” her throat following a scuffle.

Flatmate killed doctor in a fit of rage(HT File)

The woman, 25-year-old Dr Garima Mishra, was found dead with multiple stab wounds at her rented apartment by her cousin, Shivendra Pandey, and landlord, Gautam Khurana, around 10.30pm Tuesday.

According to police, her flatmate, Dr Chandra Prakash Verma, 27, was arrested from Uttarakhand’s Roorkee while he was about to allegedly jump into the Ganga canal from a bridge in a bid to kill himself.

He made two failed attempts to take his life by different means between Wednesday and Thursday, in Rishikesh and Haridwar, before deciding to jump into the canal from the bridge in Roorkee, police maintained.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) G Ram Gopal Naik said Verma was enraged because he was romantically interested in Mishra, but she did not heed his advances.

He felt cheated as he thought Mishra was ignoring him despite all “sacrifices and efforts he had made to impress her”, the DCP said.

Police said Mishra, who hailed from Gorakhpur city, and Verma, who is from Bahraich, got to know each other when they joined a Delhi hospital as junior residents last November.

Mishra wanted a cheaper accommodation and she asked Verma to help her get one. Verma asked her if she was fine sharing a flat with him. Mishra agreed and the two rented a third-floor flat in Ranjit Nagar for ₹21,000 per month in January this year.

This made Verma feel that Mishra was attracted to him. Verma started living there from the first week of January, while Mishra moved in a fortnight later, police said.

“Mishra was paying ₹7,000 while Verma was bearing the remaining rent. The problem between them started in March when Verma allowed their colleague, Rakesh Yadav, to start living in his room so that he could further split his share of the rent,” a police officer said.

Police said while Mishra had objections to Verma’s decision, Yadav started questioning Verma on why they were paying ₹14,000 for one room while Mishra paid just ₹7,000.

Verma often pacified Yadav by telling him that Mishra was from a poor family and that he was helping her to win her affection, police said.

In March, Mishra left the job to prepare for her MD exam. As she started spending more time on her studies, Verma thought she was avoiding him.

He became disturbed when, on April 28, Mishra refused to accompany him to a movie but went to watch it with another colleague of theirthe same evening.

“Verma was irked when Mishra returned around 2.30am and called him on his cell phone to come down and open the main gate for her. He, however, did not confront her that day,” a crime branch officer said.

On April 30, the DCP said Verma was in his room when the he heard some noise from Mishra’s room. He went to check and found her packing to leave for her hometown.

“Verma got upset and apologised to her when Mishra told him that she was leaving the flat because of his bad behaviour. He persuaded her to stay but Mishra was adamant,” Naik said.

“Verma lost his cool during the fight and, in a fit of rage, choked her till she became unconscious. Then, he picked up a knife from the kitchen and slit her throat,” Naik said.

Police said Verma locked Mishra’s room from the outside, packed his clothes in a backpack and left the flat. He met Yadav in the lane outside and told him that he was going to his friend’s home to return books.

Verma went to Anand Vihar ISBT and boarded a bus to Rishikesh. He was finally caught from Roorkee.