Mumbai: The 40-year-old accused housekeeping staffer Vikram Atval, who was in police custody after being accused of killing a 24-year-old air hostess at her Powai flat on Sunday, allegedly died by suicide inside the police lock-up on Friday morning.
The matter surfaced when the guards of the jail were making rounds. They allegedly found him hanging inside the locker, by the ceiling. He had used his own pants to hang himself, said the police. The matter was reported at around 6:30 a.m. The incident happened at Andheri police station’s lock-up where he was kept.
Friday was his last day in police custody for Atval after a local Andheri court sentenced him to three days for medical examination and interrogation on Tuesday. On his first day in police custody, Atval was taken to the crime spot to recreate the sequence and find the missing weapon he used to slit the victim’s neck. He showed the cops the spot, which was behind a tree, outside the victim’s building. A long straight knife was recovered, which would be used as evidence during court trials and in the chargesheet.
During the court hearing, police informed the court that Atval would be sent for medical examination – to examine the scratch, and injury marks found in his body. This was to rule out the possibility of sexual assault or rape from the matter completely. As per victim, Rupal Ogrey’s preliminary medical examination, no signs of rape or sexual assault was found. Yet, the doctors of Rajawadi Hospital have yet to release the complete postmortem report.
Details On The Incident
Rupal was murdered at her flat, located in Powai, on Sunday (Sept. 3) when Atval gained entry under the pretext of cleaning work. Knowing that she was alone, Atval allegedly forced himself on him and even pointed the knife to threaten her. Rupal’s strong resistance did not allow Atval to do what he planned, instead sustained injuries and bruises after Rupal fought back. During the scuffle when Rupal tried to run towards the main door, to seek help, he slashed her neck with the knife.
Atval dragged her body to the bathroom, cleaned up the crime spot and ran away to his house. Atval was arrested within 14 hours after the crime was reported. Atval during interrogation told the cops that Rupal “yelled” at him two days before the crime, that is on September 1, for not doing his job properly. Holding on a grudge, and knowing she lived alone, Atval confessed in the court that he intended to rape her, and carried the knife to intimidate her.
Meanwhile, Rupal’s family members, after the postmortem, took the body back to Chattisgarh for final rites.
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