Engineer kills woman colleague, then dies by suicide on rail tracks: Police
Insharah Ayyubi was from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, and Shresth Malik from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. Both worked as engineers at Optum, an international healthcare services company in Gurgaon
A 25-year-old woman’s body was recovered from a flat in Gurgaon’s Sector 55. About 60 km away, a 25-year-old man’s body was found on the railway tracks near Gurgaon’s Garhi station. Both were engineers at a Gurgaon-based company. And separate investigations into the two incidents have brought a chilling crime to light.
Insharah Ayyubi, from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, worked as a software engineer at Optum, an international healthcare services company. When repeated calls to her phone went unanswered, Ayyubi’s family filed a missing complaint at Sector 56 police station.
Police traced her phone’s location to the 1-RK flat in Sector 55 that belonged to Shresth Malik, an engineer from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and Ayyubi’s colleague. It was Malik’s body that was found on the tracks.
Even as neighbours reported hearing nothing unusual, when police forced the flat’s locked door open, they found Ayyubi’s body in a pool of blood.
Preliminary assessments indicated that she had suffered multiple stab wounds and her throat was slit. The condition of the body suggested she had been dead for nearly 24 hours, police said.
Investigators said Ayyubi, who used to live in a paying guest accommodation, moved in with Malik on July 1. “Both had joined the company (Optum) on the same day last July. They used to take the same office cab,” an officer said.
Police are now trying to find out if they were in a relationship.
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Gurgaon police found that the Government Railway Police (GRP) on Saturday had discovered Malik’s body. He was identified with the help of the phone and documents on him. He was initially thought to have died in an accident, but the investigation into Ayyubi’s death later suggested that Malik allegedly killed her and then died by suicide.
Malik’s family members had been informed that he died in a train accident and they travelled from Chhattisgarh to Gurugram to claim his body. On Sunday afternoon, when they were on their way to his flat to collect his belongings, policemen from the Sector 56 police station informed them about the shocking findings.
Police said the phones and laptops of the deceased are being examined.
Motive not clear yet
Police have not found a suicide note, and said they are yet to establish a motive. A case of murder, however, has been registered against Malik based on a complaint by the woman’s family. “The probe is underway, and we will be calling the parents of both for detailed questioning,” Sector 56 police station head Inspector Manoj Kumar said.
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The GRP and the Sector 56 police are now conducting parallel investigations, scanning CCTV footage and digital footprints. The bodies were handed over to the families after autopsy, police said, adding that the reports are awaited. Their last rites were conducted on Monday.
According to police, Malik graduated from NIT Raipur last year and had earlier completed an internship at Samsung before joining Optum. He visited his hometown to celebrate his birthday in early June, and last spoke to his mother on Wednesday. Ayyubi graduated in computer science engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia last year.
Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.
Education
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)
- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)
Professional Experience
Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.
Reporting Interests
His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.
Recent Coverage (2025)
- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).
- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).
- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).
- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.
- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).
- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).
Contact
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