Friend arrested for Lajpat Nagar woman’s murder

Mohd Sufiyan was arrested on Sunday after a tip-off that he was trying to flee the city with his girlfriend. Sufiyan has allegedly confessed to killing the woman, Pooja, after their friendship soured.

Over seven weeks after a 30-year-old woman was found murdered at her home in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, the police have arrested her friend for the crime.

Mohd Sufiyan was arrested on Sunday after a tip-off that he was trying to flee the city with his girlfriend. Sufiyan has allegedly confessed to killing the woman, Pooja, after their friendship soured. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Mohd Sufiyan was arrested on Sunday after a tip-off that he was trying to flee the city with his girlfriend. Sufiyan has allegedly confessed to killing the woman, Pooja, after their friendship soured.

Police said Sufiyan and his friend Samir were club frequenters. One such visit to a club in Vasant Vihar had brought them in contact with Pooja and her friend Reena (name changed to protect identity) last year.

“Relationships between Sufiyan and Reena, and Samir and Pooja blossomed over the months. The two couples often spent days at Pooja’s rented home in Lajpat Nagar,” said Romil Baaniya, DCP (south-east).

However, things turned sour between Reena and Pooja in February, after which the latter decided not to allow the other couple to visit their home. This added to the financial burden on Sufiyan, who had to rent another flat to spend time with his girlfriend, said the officer.

Sufiyan was already angry with Pooja for not returning R 35,000 she had borrowed from him earlier. Since he was aware that Pooja kept cash and jewellery at her home, he allegedly decided to kill and rob her.

Since the woman was breathing despite the attack, Sufiyan allegedly slit her wrists as well and ensured she died. He then made away with her jewellery and cash, leaving police believing it was a simple case of robbery-cum-murder.

But police’s technical surveillance led police to suspect Sufiyan’s role in the crime. Since he was absconding after the crime, police had deployed their sources to track him.