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Rape-murder of IRS officer: Accused said want room for a few hours, says hotel employee
Sources in the police said that the accused may be put through a psychological evaluation as part of the investigation.
Police said Meena came to work for the family about 18 months ago from his hometown Rajgarh in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. (File)
After he allegedly raped and killed the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer’s daughter at the family’s Southeast Delhi home on Wednesday morning, Rahul Meena (23) reached a hotel in Dwarka’s Sector 9, according to police. A hotel employee who declined to give his name said the accused arrived about 9 am.
“He said he was very tired and needed a room immediately. He claimed that his name was Rahul Kumar, and that he didn’t have an ID. He said he wanted the room until his uncle came in the evening, after which he would be able to say when he would check out,” the employee told The Indian Express. “The man said he was from Alwar,” the employee said. The details he gave were recorded in the hotel’s logbook, he said. Meena allegedly paid Rs 1,000, and was allotted a room on the second floor of the building.
Police arrived at the hotel around 4 pm. They arrested Meena and shut one of the gates of the hotel. “After the arrest, the room he occupied was also sealed by the police. The logbook and the related CCTV footage are with the police,” the hotel employee said.
Sources in the police said that the accused may be put through a psychological evaluation as part of the investigation. “Such cases warrant psychological evaluation… We may decide to do it,” a source said.
Police had earlier claimed that Meena booked the hotel room for Rs 2,000 and ordered a T-shirt through a quick commerce app during his stay, followed by chicken curry and rotis. “After committing the crime, the accused hired an auto-rickshaw from Palam and reached a hotel in Dwarka where he had booked a room for Rs 2,000 till 6.30 pm.
He told police that while the tariff was Rs 1,500, the hotel staff allegedly took Rs 500 more because he did not have any identity proof,” said a source. The source added, “We are now verifying whether the accused was waiting for someone at the hotel, and where he planned to go after 6.30 pm.”
The IRS officer’s 22-year-old daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted and strangled with a mobile phone charger at the family’s South Delhi home between 6 am and 7.30 am on Wednesday. Meena was captured on CCTV entering and leaving the house.
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He also stole Rs 2.5 lakh from the home where he had worked until about six weeks ago before being sacked.
Police have also recovered the murder weapon used to commit the crime. Police said Meena came to work for the family about 18 months ago from his hometown Rajgarh in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.
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