Investigators probing the rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman, the daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, in Delhi’s upscale Kailash Hills area have uncovered disturbing details suggesting the accused used a spare key to enter the house, attacked the victim while she studied on the rooftop, and changed his blood-stained clothes before fleeing. Police are also probing a separate rape allegation against the accused in Rajasthan’s Alwar, reportedly committed hours before the Delhi crime.

According to police sources, 19-year-old Rahul Meena entered the southeast Delhi residence on Wednesday morning using a spare key and went directly to the rooftop study room, where the woman was preparing for her civil services examination.

He allegedly assaulted her, strangled her with a mobile phone charging cable, and struck her with a heavy object, leaving her unconscious.

“The investigation suggests that the accused raped the victim while she was still unconscious. He then dragged her down the stairs to another room where a locker was kept, and attempted to open the biometric lock using her fingerprint, but it did not open,” a police source said.

Police said the accused then broke open the locker with a screwdriver, stole cash and jewellery, changed his blood-stained clothes and slippers, and escaped around 30 minutes before the victim’s parents returned home.

According to investigators, Rahul remained inside the house for around 40 minutes. CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts showed he entered the colony around 6.30 am, entered the house at 6.49 am, and left at 7.20 am.

The crime came to light when the victim’s parents returned home and found her lying in a pool of blood, with torn clothes and belongings scattered around the house.

Police said Rahul had worked as a domestic help at the residence for around eight months before being dismissed about a month ago, and was aware of the family’s morning routine.

During interrogation, investigators said the accused changed his statements multiple times.

“Initially, Rahul told police that he took an ambulance from Alwar to Delhi. But later he changed his statement and said he booked a car for Rs 5,000 and left without paying the driver after reaching Delhi.

“Our teams are working to ascertain the exact chain of events, both in Rajasthan and Delhi. We are also scanning the trail of CCTV footage from the crime scene to the hotel in Dwarka from where Rahul was arrested,” the source said.

Rahul was arrested from a hotel in Delhi’s Dwarka hours after the murder.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Police have launched a parallel probe after a woman in Alwar alleged Rahul raped her on Tuesday night, hours before the Delhi crime.

Alwar SP Sudhir Chaudhary said, "A special team has been formed to probe the rape charge against Rahul Meena here. We have detained over half a dozen people for questioning.”

According to police, the woman’s husband alleged he had attended a wedding with Rahul on Tuesday evening and stayed there overnight, while Rahul returned to the village and allegedly committed the crime at his house.

Police said the woman later informed her husband over the phone, following which a complaint was lodged. The accused also allegedly threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident.

According to the officer, Rahul was known to the victim and played online Ludo with her husband.

“The survivor has undergone a medical examination. We are sharing all the inputs with Delhi Police to fast-track the investigation,” Chaudhary said.