Triple murder: Cops look at rape angle

NEW DELHI: Investigation into the Rohini triple murder case took a new turn on Monday with police examining the possibility of the 22-year-old – who was killed along with her parents – being sexually assaulted before her murder. Sources said police were working on some indications in the postmortem report but would wait for a confirmation from the viscera and other reports. Police are now questioning the woman’s friends who were in touch with her a day before the murders and are analysing her call details afresh from this angle. A source said the triple murder may be a result of a one-sided attraction — an attack by a spurned lover who might have been troubling the woman and her family. A source said investigations so far indicate the killer acted on a grudge. “The brutality of the attack and the fact that the girl’s laptop was taken away indicate the killers acted in rage. That the girl was harmed the most is reason to keep her at the centre of the investigation. Her bloodstains have been found at three places. The role of professionals seems unlikely,” said an officer, on condition of anonymity. However, senior police officers refused to comment on the matter saying the investigation could be hampered. The source said the new lead had nullified their initial investigation as they were earlier viewing the murders as the outcome of a property feud, personal enmity of the girl’s father and even a robbery, as valuables were found missing. The robbery, however, seems to have been staged to mislead investigators. A police team, meanwhile, is studying the series of currency notes that was reportedly handed over to the girl’s eldest sister, who was going through a divorce, and trying to find out if the notes were used in local markets. This will help determine the involvement of a local person in the murder. In their desperation to gather leads, police are also checking CCTV footage of roads leading out of Delhi to ascertain the identity of a mysterious scooter rider who visited the house around 4.30pm on the day of murder and inquired about the address of the deceased family. Another team has returned from Etah with no results. On September 21, a 55-year-old businessman, his wife and their daughter were murdered at their residence in Rohini. Police said the man’s temple was smashed with a heavy object, and the two women were strangled after being assaulted. They all had head injuries.