New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): A long-standing property dispute culminated in the tragic murder of a Delhi University assistant professor inside her residence at Satyam Apartments in East Delhi’s Vasundhara Enclave. The Delhi Police have apprehended a married couple alongside their minor son from West Bengal in connection with the crime. The victim, Debosmita Paul, who taught in the Department of English at Shivaji College, was discovered dead inside her sixth-floor flat after her sister broke open the outside lock following a day of unanswered phone calls.
According to senior investigators, the dispute originated from Paul’s ancestral property located in Burdwan, West Bengal, which she had inherited through a structured family settlement. The accused family had been residing on the premises as tenants since 2023. Tensions escalated recently after the professor issued a final, strict ultimatum demanding that they vacate the house, prompting the suspects to allegedly orchestrate a premeditated conspiracy to eliminate her. The family travelled nearly 1,400 kilometres from West Bengal to Delhi on June 3, carrying the weapon intended for the assault.
The suspects utilized sophisticated evasive maneuvers to mislead law enforcement and cover their tracks. Upon arrival in the national capital, the family used identification credentials belonging to unrelated individuals to secure a room at a local guest house in Dallupura. Posing as authorized guests under false names, they monitored the victim’s location before executing the crime. CCTV footage captured the suspects entering the residential complex, where they were received without initial resistance due to their prior acquaintance with the victim. Post-incident footage revealed the family strategically altering their clothing, concealing their faces, and interchanging the use of elevators and staircases to avoid structural cameras.
The breakthrough in the investigation came through exhaustive technological analysis and localized tracking. After scanning through records of nearly 200 visitors who accessed the apartments on the day of the crime, police investigators zeroed in on a taxi driver who had transported the suspicious passengers toward major transit hubs. The suspects had fled the local area via an auto-rickshaw and a cab to reach the New Delhi Railway Station, where they boarded the Poorva Express back to Burdwan. Tracking the digital footprints of the mobile numbers linked to the fraudulent guest house registrations, Delhi Police deployed seven specialized teams across four different states.
Coordinated efforts between regional police wings successfully localized the suspects at their hideout in West Bengal. A flying squad landed in Bengal on June 6, cross-referenced station surveillance footage, and ultimately apprehended 42-year-old Ramprashad Das, who operates a sanitary business, alongside his 36-year-old wife Banashree Das. Their minor son was taken into custody under the standard provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. Authorities successfully retrieved the victim’s stolen mobile phone, transit tickets, and the sharp weapon used during the crime. The accused are currently being produced before a local court to obtain transit remand for further interrogation in Delhi.
