NEW DELHI: A 39-year-old Indian Railways technician was found murdered inside a rented apartment in north Delhi’s Railway Colony, Subzi Mandi, allegedly following an attempted sexual assault, leading to the apprehension of a 17-year-old minor, police said.
The incident came to light after a PCR call was received at the Gulabi Bagh Police Station. The deceased was identified as Sandeep Kumar Malviya (39), a resident of Railway Colony, Kishanganj, Delhi.
Malviya’s body was discovered on February 2 inside a rented room falling under the jurisdiction of the Gulabi Bagh police. Officers said the body was found in a semi-clothed condition with visible injuries on the neck, face and chest, and showed signs of partial decomposition. A crime team and forensic experts examined the scene, following which the body was sent to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Police said Malviya worked as a technician with Indian Railways in New Delhi. According to his brother, he had left home on January 25 and did not return. His motorcycle was later found parked near the RK Ashram Metro Station, prompting the family to file a missing report at the Paharganj Police Station.
Investigators later learned that Malviya occasionally used the rented room where his body was found. CCTV footage from the area showed the victim travelling in an auto-rickshaw with a teenage boy.
A crucial lead emerged when police detected a Rs 1 test transaction from the victim’s UPI account. The beneficiary account was traced to a minor, following which multiple raids were conducted.
The suspect was apprehended near Mandir Marg in the early hours of February 3. During questioning, the teenager allegedly told police that he met Malviya near a bar in Paharganj and later accompanied him to the rented room, where a violent altercation took place. He reportedly fled with cash, a bank card and the victim’s mobile phone, later withdrawing money from an ATM in Ghaziabad and purchasing a new handset.
Police have recovered clothes, a gas cylinder, broken glass pieces and the newly purchased mobile phone. Further investigation is underway.