Stalker kills 18-year-old woman, sets body ablaze

Accused, who has been arrested, is a first-year student of DU's School of Open Learning, as was the victim

- Hemani Bhandari

NEW DELHI: An 18-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by a man who had been stalking her for months and then set her body on fire in Sanjay Van on Sunday after she repeatedly rejected his advances, the police said on Monday.

The accused, who has been arrested, is a first-year student of Delhi University's School of Open Learning (SOL), as was the victim.

The accused has been identified as Arshkrit Singh, a resident of Rani Bagh. The victim lived with her parents and elder sister in Jahangirpuri. Both were pursuing undergraduate degrees through SOL.

Deputy commissioner of police (South) Ankit Chauhan said the woman's parents filed a missing person's report at Mehrauli police station on Sunday evening after she failed to return home.

"She had gone for classes in the morning. Around noon, she called her mother and said she would be back shortly, but she never returned," Chauhan said.

Later that afternoon, around 2.30pm, Singh's father contacted the victim's father, claiming that his daughter had attacked Singh with a knife in Sanjay Van, and that his son had been admitted to a hospital in Pitampura.