DU professor found murdered had promotion interview same day, sent medicines to mother

AProf at a prominent new delhi University (DU) college was found deadened at her flat tire in eastward Delhi’s Vasundhara Enclave Thursday afternoon, with the police suspecting murder.In the hours leading up to her death, the 43-year-old had reportedly sent medicines to her mother, her family told the police. She also had a promotion interview scheduled for Thursday, but did not turn up, according to a colleague who worked in the same college.The victim, who lived alone in her flat, was found dead later that day at her home with a severe head injury, with both her wrists slit and bruises on her face and body, according to investigators familiar with the details of the murder probe.“We were told that the principal’s personal assistant had tried to contact her, but no one from the college had been able to reach her since around 4pm on Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon, we received the news that she had passed away,” the colleague said. They added that the professor was a “reserved person”, and had worked as a guest lecturer at the college before being appointed as an assistant professor.Also Read | Head injury, slit wrists: DU professor found murdered in east Delhi flat; police suspect known attackerSenior police officers said the woman worked as an ad hoc professor at another DU college before being appointed as an assistant professor at her current college located in Raja Garden in 2023. According to the police, the victim had separated from her Bengaluru-based husband, with divorce proceedings ongoing for the past four years.Victim was not responding to calls, sister broke her flat's lockThe incident came to light after the victim's sister reported the murder at around 2:35 pm on Thursday, Deputy commissioner of police (east) Rajiv Kumar told HT.The sister had tried to reach the victim, who was not responding to calls since the morning. “Suspecting something untoward, she arrived at her sister’s flat and found it locked from the outside. She broke open the lock and found her sister dead on the floor,” Kumar said. Police said that there were no signs of forced entry in the victim's flat, suggesting that the killer might have been known to her.Her 49-year-old sister, who lives in Mayur Vihar, arrived at her house but found it locked. She then informed the locals, who alerted the society’s residents welfare association (RWA). The lock was then broken in the presence of the RWA members, a senior police officer stated.After police were alerted, crime and forensics teams inspected the scene and collected samples, with a case being registered under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The victim's body was shifted to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital mortuary for autopsy, and teams formed to identify and apprehend the offender.