The suspect, who was arrested in the early hours of Friday after an encounter, also had a criminal past and spent time at a drug de-addiction centre.
A day after a 21-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend in west Delhi ’s Tilak Nagar , police said their investigation has found traces of a “toxic relationship” with harassment, frequent arguments, and accusations of cheating.
Police identified the victim as Muskan Sharma, a fashion content creator and model who worked with bridal-wear brands and makeup artists on photoshoots and promotional campaigns. She was also pursuing graduation through Delhi University’s School of Open Learning. She is survived by her mother, two elder sisters and a younger brother. Imran had come to see her when they got into an argument. He then strangled her before stabbing her three times in her chest and abdomen. She was discovered around an hour by the domestic help lying in a pool of blood.
Based on the brother’s statement, police checked CCTV footage which showed Imran entering the building around 5.40 pm and leaving by 6.05pm. The incident took place around 6pm on Wednesday while the victim was alone at home in Old Mahavir Nagar.
Police said he was arrested and later released. Police are now investigating if the murder was premeditated. It was the family who pointed the police to the boyfriend. The brother suspects that the crime had been committed by him. He went again this month but returned after a few days. “From the chats recovered from the victim’s phone, the two were in a toxic relationship. He would harass her and accuse her of cheating on him. The case is still under trial.
Police also found that he had been booked under section 308 (attempted culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code in a 2021 case. Because he went to drug de-addiction centre for his treatment and she did not push for any action, the victim and her family had also complained to police about the suspect last month “No action was taken against him.
“As per initial enquiry, the suspect had a knife with him when he went there,” said the officer. DCP (west) Hareshwar V Swami said, “The victim’s brother, during questioning, told police that his sister knew a man who lived in the nearby area. Around four months ago, he went to a drug de-addiction centre for treatment, a second officer said. It looks like a planned murder,” said another officer. They sorted out the issues themselves,” he said.
