The Goa Police arrested a 21-year-old man from a hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday, four days after perfume specialist Monica Ghurde was found murdered in her three-bedroom rented flat in Sangolda village in Panaji on October 6.
"The accused was arrested from Bengaluru, where he had checked into a hotel after committing the crime," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta told reporters.
Rajkumar Singh, the accused who hails from Bhatinda in Punjab, was a security guard in Panaji and previously worked in a building complex where Ghurde lived. However, he was fired after several residents complained against him.
Singh had stolen Ghurde's mobile phone and two ATM cards through which he made transactions that helped the police track him. He was identified after the police obtained CCTV footage from an ATM booth in Porvorim from where he had withdrawn cash on October 6. Porvorim is around 5 kms from Ghurde's flat where the crime was committed.
"Rajkumar was identified from the records of police verification at the local police station which maintains details of all helps working in the apartment," Gupta told reporters, adding that Singh had withdrawn over Rs 1 lakh from different locations using Ghurde's cards.
A team comprising the Goa and Bengaluru police officials arrested Singh, who has confessed to the crime. The Goa Crime Branch was also asked to intervene to solve the case. Gupta added that the motive of murder would be known only after Singh was interrogated by the police. He will be brought to Goa on Monday.
The perfume specialist's body was found naked and tied to a bed in her flat on October 6, but investigations revealed that she had been murdered the day before. Bharat Ramamrutam, photographer and estranged husband, filed a complaint with Saligao Police Station following which the murder came to light. The police formed several teams and sent them to neighbouring states to collect clues, local media reported.
"Keeping in mind the background of the deceased, we were working on different aspects. We had also considered her social life. We adopted non-traditional methods to solve the case," Gupta said.
Ghurde's post-mortem report said that she was suffocated to death while the police is still waiting for the results of "serological examinations of oral, vaginal and inner swabs" to confirm rape, NDTV reported.
