Woman checks into Paharganj hotel with male friend, found dead 2 hours later

Police suspect the involvement of the dead woman’s male friend in her death as he is absconding and prima facie it appears that the victim was strangulated.

A 26-year-old woman was found dead inside a hotel room in central Delhi’s Paharganj on Thursday afternoon. Police said the woman had checked into the hotel with her male friend about two hours before she was found dead. The man who was with her is absconding, police said.

The woman had checked into a hotel in Delhi’s Paharganj with a male friend but he was found missing when she was found dead a couple of hours later. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to police, the murder came to light at around 3.30 pm when a hotel employee noticed that the door of the room was open. Police said when he went inside to check, he found the woman lying unconscious on the bed . He then alerted senior hotel staff and police were called.

The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead, a police officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) MS Randhawa said initial enquiry revealed that the woman had arrived at the hotel around 1pm with a man. “Since the man couldn’t be found after the girl was found dead, we suspect his involvement behind the murder. The girl’s family lives in Uttam Nagar and has been approached for questioning. The body has been sent for a postmortem examination,” the DCP said, adding that prima facie it appears that the woman was strangulated.

Randhawa said the police are checking the CCTV footages from the hotel and nearby areas to trace and identify the man. A crime and forensics team were called to collect evidences from the scene of crime, the DCP said.