Gym trainer’s suicide attempt, drugs, abuse: Run-up to Delhi woman’s murder

Police said things began to change about two months ago. Imran allegedly attempted suicide and subsequently became addicted to drugs. His behaviour towards Muskan also turned abusive, prompting her to approach the police once, a senior officer said. “He became abusive… Due to this, she went to the police once,” the officer added.

The gym later fired Imran over what the trainer described as his “erratic behaviour”.

Police said Imran, who had been booked in a culpable homicide case from 2021, subsequently went to a de-addiction centre.

When he returned, he allegedly met Muskan at a hotel on August 20. “He was suspicious that she had been talking to another man and confronted her. This led to a fight between them,” claimed an officer.

According to police, Imran reached Muskan’s neighbourhood around 5.40 pm on Wednesday. Police said there was no sign of a forced entry into the house, and that Imran was likely let in.

She was alone at home. Her mother was out buying vegetables. Her two sisters were in Chandigarh.

“Muskan and Imran got into a heated argument. It appears that in a fit of rage, Imran strangled her before stabbing her multiple times in the abdomen with a knife he had brought with him. He then took her phone and fled,” a senior officer said.

About 6.40 pm, the family’s domestic help came to the house and found the door open. She saw that all the lights had been switched off, except for the one in Muskan’s room.

“She went inside and found Muskan, injured and bleeding. Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed to help and took Muskan to the hospital,” the officer said.

Muskan was cremated around 3 pm on Thursday amid heavy police deployment outside the cremation ground. No mediapersons were allowed to enter.

Security was stepped up near her house. Barricades blocked the entry to the lane, with police officers questioning everyone trying to enter.

Muskan was one of four siblings raised by their mother, Kamlesh Sharma, after their father died about 15 years ago. Her mother works as a lab assistant at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, a family friend said.

Her two older sisters include Anamika, a model, while her younger brother is 18 years old. The family lived on the second floor of a building inside a narrow lane in Old Mahavir Nagar, a dense mix of shops and residential buildings in Tilak Nagar.

“Muskan had been pursuing content creation like her sister, Anamika, who is a model. She started earning enough to build a decent career,” said a friend who lives three lanes away from her home.

Muskan’s social media accounts show a young woman trying to establish herself in the world of content creation. Her Instagram is filled with professionally shot pictures from gyms and wedding-wear boutique shoots, along with reels she made while travelling and at home.

Imran’s Instagram profile, meanwhile, largely reflects his life at the gym, with several reels of him working out.