Husband of tutor drugs teen for days before killing her

NEW DELHI: A 34-year-old man and his wife were arrested on Wednesday for murdering a 14-year-old girl whose body had been found stuffed in a trolley bag at Yamuna Biodiversity Park on Sunday monring.
The girl from Welcome, northeast Delhi, had been missing since October 22 after leaving home for coaching classes. TOI had reported on Tuesday that the husband of her tutor, Rajab, had been detained for questioning.

DCP (northeast) Atul Kumar Thakur said they were trying to find out if other people were involved in the kidnapping and murder.
Police said the girl used to go for Urdu classes to Rajab’s wife and also help her with the household chores. “They had moved into the area three months ago. My daughter couldn’t get admission in the nearby school, so used to take classes from the woman. That day too she went but didn’t return. When I asked them about her whereabouts, they claimed they had been to the hospital so didn’t take classes that day,” the girl’s father said.
Rajab told the police that the girl was asked to clean the top shelf of a closet when an object fell on her head and she started crying. Rajab claimed his wife was asleep at the time so he hit the girl to keep her quiet. But it proved counterproductive as the girl lost consciousness. The couple panicked as after repeated attempts, the girl didn’t regain consciousness. They locked her up in the house and left in order to think up ways to manage the situation.
When the girl’s father came looking for her, they lied to him. But later they learnt that he had contacted the police. So Rajab administered a sedative to the girl and stuffed her inside a blue trolley bag. At midnight, he took the girl to a house in Jafrabad. The next day, police and family members made a fruitless search at Rajab’s house.
Investigating officers said Rajab continued to give the girl sedatives in juices. Tablets were found lying in the house when the police raided it. They suspect Rajab also sexually assaulted the girl, but are waiting for the autopsy report to confirm it.
Even as Rajab hid the girl in Jafrabad, her family continued to look for her in vain. But police said the couple panicked as the search intensified, and on Saturday night, they decided to eliminate her. The duo used Rajab’s handkerchief to strangulate the girl. One of his oversized T-shirts was then cut up, re-stitched and put on the body. The couple then stuffed the body in a trolley bag and carried it on their mini-scooter.
Rajab dropped his wife at Gandhinagar and then dumped the body at the park. On his way back, he took his vehicle for washing and servicing. He then deleted all his call logs. But CCTV footage nailed him.
Rajab had been booked in 2005 for the murder of his stepmother in Bhajanpura.