A 38-year-old married woman was found murdered at a guest house near Jama Masjid in Central Delhi, police said on Monday.
The woman, identified as Kaushalya Devi, had checked in with a man — the prime suspect in the case — at the guest house around 10.15 am on Sunday, said a police official.
The man left the room around 2.30 pm and did not return. When the hotel staff went to check on Kaushalya Devi around 11 pm, they found her lying motionless inside the room and called up police, the official added.
A police team reached there and rushed the woman to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Police also checked the records of the guest house to ascertain the identities of the deceased and the prime suspect.
On ascertaining Kaushalya Devi’s identity, police informed her family and later sent the body for a post-mortem examination. The initial report disclosed that she was strangled to death, said the official.
A case of murder was registered immediately and the police launched a manhunt for the accused, who was identified with the help of CCTV grabs obtained from the guest house. He turned out to be a person known to the family.
“Police are raiding potential whereabouts of the accused and a separate team has been sent to his native village in UP,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Parmaditya.
The deceased woman worked in a factory and her husband told police that she had left home on Sunday saying that she was leaving for her work place.
The couple has a son and two daughters, all aged between nine and 13 years, and live near Jama Masjid, said the official.