A prominent Delhi University professor was found dead in her apartment in east Delhi’s Vasundhara area on Thursday afternoon, with police suspecting murder.
In the hours before her death, her family told police that the 43-year-old had sent medications to her mother. She also had a promotion interview scheduled for Thursday, but did not show up, according to a colleague who works at the same college.
The victim, who lived alone in her apartment, was found dead later that day in her home with a serious head injury, a cut on her wrists and bruises on her face and body, according to investigators familiar with the details of the homicide investigation.
The colleague said: “We were told that the principal’s personal assistant tried to contact her, but no one from the college had been able to reach her since around 4pm on Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon, we received news of her death.” They added that the professor was a “reserved person” and had worked as a guest lecturer at the college before being appointed assistant professor.
Read also | Head injury, cut wrists: DU professor found murdered in east Delhi apartment; Police suspect a known attacker
Senior police officers said the woman worked as a dedicated professor in another DU college before being appointed as an assistant professor in her current college located in Raja Garden in 2023. According to police, the victim was separated from her Bengaluru-based husband, with divorce proceedings ongoing for the past four years.
The victim was not answering calls, so her sister broke the lock on her apartment
The incident came to light after the victim’s sister reported the murder at around 2:35 pm on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Rajeev Kumar told HT.
The sister had tried to reach the victim, who had not answered calls since the morning. “Suspecting something untoward was happening, she reached her sister’s apartment and found it locked from outside. She broke the lock and found her sister dead on the floor,” Kumar said. Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the victim’s apartment, indicating that the killer may have been known to her.
Her 49-year-old sister, who lives in Mayur Vihar, reached her house but found it locked. She then informed local residents, who informed the Community Residents Welfare Association (RWA). A senior police officer stated that the lock was broken in the presence of RWA members.
After alerting the police, crime and forensic teams searched the spot and collected samples, and a case was registered under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act. The victim’s body was taken to the morgue of Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital for autopsy, and teams were formed to identify and arrest the culprit.
