Two cab drivers arrested for abducting, murdering 22-year-old woman in Delhi | Latest News Delhi

Two cab drivers allegedly picked up a 22-year-old call centre employee “acquainted” with one of them from near her workplace in east Delhi’s Nirman Vihar, strangled her inside a cab in Nand Nagri in northeast Delhi following an altercation, then transported the body nearly 45km to Chhawla in southwest Delhi, before dumping it in the Najafgarh drain last week, police said on Thursday. The two suspects have been arrested.

The woman’s decomposed body was recovered from the drain on March 17, five days after it was dumped, officers said.

The case was solved on March 19 (Wednesday), a week after the crime happened, according to police. One of the suspects was a stalker who was “angry” with her for talking to another man, and allegedly killed her in a fit of jealous rage.

Police identified the two suspects as Asif Khan alias Arif, 26, and his friend Mohammad Zuber, 27, and said the deceased and the suspects hailed from the same neighbourhood in Sunder Nagri. HT is withholding the identity of the woman as police are still investigating whether she was sexually assaulted.

Explaining the motive, Khan told investigators that he was in a “close friendship” with the woman for several years and was angry with her for talking to another man. They had a fight over this in the car, after which he murdered her, police said.

Officers said the second man — Zuber — helped Khan dispose of the body. However, they said, it is not clear whether Zuber helped Khan murder the woman, or if he was the man who was driving the car.

On March 12, the woman left for work in the morning but did not return home until late evening. Her family became worried after her cellphone was switched off. After contacting her office and learning that she had left in the evening, the family filed a missing person’s complaint at Seemapuri police station the following morning.

“We registered a case of abduction and began the probe. We learned about her friendship with Khan and checked their call records. It revealed that the two were together on March 12. We took Khan in for questioning, and he admitted to strangling her and dumping the body in the Najafgarh drain,” said the officer.

On March 18, Khan led the police to the drain, where they learned a body had been recovered the day before. The Chhawla police station confirmed the body’s recovery, and the woman’s family identified it. As a murder case was already filed at Chhawla police station, Khan’s custody was transferred for further probe.

“Khan’s questioning revealed Zuber’s role, and he was arrested. Khan said he strangled the woman with a rope in the cab and Zuber helped him dispose of the body,” said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.