On 13th January (Saturday), Police arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly attempting to kill his 19-year-old pregnant partner in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar. According to the Police, the accused stabbed her multiple times with a screwdriver and slashed her neck with a blade when she refused to abort the pregnancy.
The police said that the victim was found severely injured in the area on Thursday (9th January) morning. She was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital where she has been on ventilator support and is battling for her life.
The accused was identified as Yogesh Dheda. Dheda and the victim both live in the same locality – Chilla village – and they have known each other for a few years. The accused is a first-year student at an open college.
The police traced the accused after analysing footage from almost 100 CCTV cameras in the area as the crime scene was not covered by security cameras. The Police also questioned 50 witnesses, including shopkeepers.
According to the police, the couple had been in a relationship for the past three years. A dispute arose when the woman disclosed to Dheda that she was expecting his child. However, Dheda wanted her to have an abortion and even gave her pills for it. When she didn’t agree, Dheda attacked, intending to kill her, on Wednesday night while she was coming back from work, as per the police.
An officer said, “Yogesh was in denial about the victim being pregnant with his child and wanted her to get an abortion… he claimed the child was not his but the woman said she wanted to marry him… her family too got to know about the pregnancy a few days back and were in agreement over the wedding. So, Yogesh bought a screwdriver and a blade to threaten the woman.”
Police said Dedha had planned the crime a week ago and deleted all their chats following the attack.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Achin Garg stated that the woman had met her partner outside the New Ashok Nagar Metro station. They walked together towards her home.
The Additional DCP said, “When the couple reached a park near the fire brigade office in Chilla and sat there for some time, Dheda again tried to convince his partner to abort the child and when she refused, he allegedly attacked her with a screwdriver and blade.”
Another officer said, “He allegedly stabbed her multiple times and slashed her neck with the blade. He also stoned her face with bricks to hide her identity.”
According to Garg, it appeared as though the accused had met her on that night with a plan to kill her as he had a screwdriver and a blade in his possession. Dheda destroyed the woman’s mobile phone and sim card, the police said.
The officer said, “Assuming that she was dead, he left her at the spot and fled. Based on technical evidence, chat history between the couple, and CCTV footage of the nearby area, the police zeroed in on Dheda and arrested him on Saturday.” Garg said that the accused was arrested on Saturday and produced before the court.
The incident came to light when the victim didn’t come home by her usual 9.30 pm time. Subsequently, her family contacted the police around midnight to report her missing. Police teams were immediately mobilised to search for her. By 9 am on Thursday, a distress call came in, informing the police that an injured woman was discovered in Chilla village near the fire brigade office. She had a slit throat, stab wounds on her ear and head, and other injuries.
According to the victim’s family, they knew she and Yogesh were friends but did not know anything about their relationship.
Speaking with The Indian Express, her younger sister said, “We knew my sister would interact with Yogesh but did not know that they were in a relationship… we got to know about her pregnancy a few days ago… On Wednesday when she didn’t return home, my father made a PCR call… we were all worried… she is still in the ICU.” The victim is the eldest of three sisters.
Following the incident on Thursday, the police had lodged an FIR under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and a probe is underway.