A couple from Kolkata were arrested in West Bengal on Sunday in connection with the murder of a 45-year-old assistant professor at a Delhi University college, whose body was found in a high-rise in east Delhi’s Vasundhara area on Thursday.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Ajit Kumar Singla said the motive behind the killing was a property dispute and that the couple, who traveled to Delhi, killed the professor and returned to Kolkata, are distant relatives of the deceased.
The woman, who was appointed as a permanent assistant professor at her current college in Raja Park in 2023, was found suffering from a serious head injury, cuts to her wrists, and bruises on her face and body, suggesting a fight, according to investigators familiar with the details of the investigation.
The elder sister lives with her family in Mayur Vihar and was the first to reach the spot, a senior police officer said. When she found the door locked, she informed local residents, who then informed the Community Residents Welfare Association (RWA), the officer added. The lock was broken in the presence of RWA members.
Rajeev Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said the arrested couple were living as tenants in one of her ancestral properties in Kolkata.
“The couple wanted to buy the house in which they had been living for many years. The professor’s parents and two of his siblings were reportedly willing to sell it, as the entire family had settled in Delhi and had no plans to return to Kolkata. The professor was against the family’s decision to sell the ancestral property,” Kumar said.
“The couple saw her as the main obstacle. Angered that the professor did not give her consent despite their repeated requests, they traveled to Delhi and killed her on Wednesday, then returned to Kolkata,” Kumar added.
The couple was arrested in Kolkata and transferred to Delhi for further questioning and investigation, police said.
