Live-in partner among three held for killing UPSC aspirant

In a chilling twist to what initially appeared to be an accidental fire, the Delhi Police have arrested a 21-year-old forensic science student, her ex-boyfriend and their associate for allegedly murdering a 32-year-old civil services aspirant and setting his body on fire by pouring ghee and wine to make it look like an accident, police said on Monday.

The sensational case unfolded in North Delhi’s Gandhi Vihar area earlier this month.

The charred body of Ramkesh Meena was found in his fourth-floor flat on October 6. It was suspected that AC blast triggered a fire.

During investigation, the incident unfolded into a cold-blooded murder. According to the police, Meena had been in a live-in relationship with the woman, a BSc forensic science student from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

She allegedly conspired with her ex-boyfriend and another associate to kill Meena after accusing him of recording her obscene videos and refusing to delete them.

Suspicion grew after CCTV footage from the building showed two masked men entering the premises in the early hours of October 6. Around 2.57 am, a woman was seen leaving with one of them. Moments later, the fire broke out at the flat.

Woman’s mobile location showed her presence near the crime scene at the time of the incident. Multiple raids were conducted in Moradabad and she was arrested on October 18. During interrogation, she confessed to the crime and named her accomplices, who were later nabbed.

The police said the trio strangled Meena before pouring oil, ghee and liquor on his body. The woman’s ex-boyfriend, who worked as an LPG distributor, allegedly opened a gas cylinder valve to intensify the blaze. They fled with Meena’s hard disk, laptop and other belongings.