The discovery of a middle-aged woman's body in Delhi with a man's name tattooed on her hand, followed by rigorous scanning of CCTV footage sent the police on a nail-biting 1,100-kilometre chase to find the killer.
On November 16, a woman's body was found lying in the bushes near the Adarsh Nagar railway station. The woman's clothes were torn and her body bore several deep wounds. A sharp weapon, a woman's slippers and a man's slippers were found near her body.
After a murder case was registered, police began analysing CCTV footage. The woman, aged 52 years, was seen approaching the railway station and seconds later, a young man was seen walking in the same direction. He was wearing the same white and black slippers that were found near her body later.
Footage then showed the man returning from the spot, this time barefoot.
CCTV footage also helped police identify the man as 23-year-old Salman alias Bona, who had been previously named in two major robbery cases, kidnapping, and the rape of a minor. He was facing trial in Gujarat, but had not appeared. His name was tattooed on the dead woman's arm.
The hunt for Salman started from the slum he lived in, where he was not found. Meanwhile, the woman's family identified her, adding that she was mentally unstable and had been missing for some time.
Through continuous surveillance and intelligence received from a network of informants, the police learned that Salman was hiding in a brick kiln in Gujarat's Bharuch district, 1,100 kilometres away from the spot where the woman's body was found.
On being interrogated by the police, Salman confessed that he first attacked the woman, then raped and murdered her. Further investigation is now underway.
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