The Delhi University assistant professor was murdered allegedly by a family from West Bengal over a long-running property dispute, with the police apprehending a married couple and their minor son, an official said on Sunday.
Debosmita Paul, the assistant professor at Shivaji College, was found dead in her flat at Satyam Apartments in east Delhi’s Vasundhara Enclave on June 3.
Police said the accused family had been residing in Paul’s ancestral property in Burdwan, West Bengal, since 2023, which had been allotted to her through a family settlement. “The victim had repeatedly asked them to vacate the premises, leading to a prolonged dispute,” a senior police officer said.
According to investigators, the victim had recently issued a final warning to the family to vacate the property, after which they allegedly conspired to eliminate her and travelled to Delhi, almost 1,400 kilometres, on June 3 with preparations to execute the crime.
Police said the accused, who were known to the victim, gained entry into the sixth-floor apartment without resistance. Initial investigation pointed to the property dispute as the main motive behind the murder.
Paul had been living alone in the flat after separating from her husband in 2022. During the probe, police also questioned her husband, who currently resides in Bengaluru.
Investigators said CCTV footage from the housing complex showed the accused arriving at the apartment building with their minor son. They were seen moving through the premises while concealing their identities and using the staircase and lifts at different stages.
Police said it has emerged that the accused carried the murder weapon with them and killed Paul inside her residence.
The accused allegedly took several steps to evade detection. CCTV footage showed them changing clothes after the crime and keeping their faces concealed while moving in and around the apartment complex.
After committing the crime, the family hired a taxi and an auto-rickshaw to flee the area. “They travelled to Anand Vihar and then proceeded to New Delhi Railway Station, from where they boarded the Poorva Express at around 5.40 pm on June 3. They reached Burdwan the following day,” said the police officer.
The breakthrough came after investigators detained the cab driver who had transported the suspects and analysed ride details to identify the passengers.
Police scrutinised footage and records of nearly 200 visitors who had entered the housing complex on the day of the murder and shortlisted 13 suspects for detailed examination.
The police carried out extensive CCTV analysis at and around the crime scene and traced the movement of the suspects before and after the murder.
Further technical and CCTV analysis revealed that the accused had stayed at the guest house in Dallupura in Delhi on June 3, before committing the offence.
During the investigation, police recovered details of two Aadhaar cards from the guest house records. The identities were found to be in the names of Satish, a resident of Nawada in Bihar, and Soma Chaudhary, a resident of Burdwan in West Bengal.
Police later discovered that the Aadhaar credentials belonged to unrelated people and had allegedly been used by the accused to conceal their identities and avoid detection.
The mobile numbers linked to the identities were placed under electronic surveillance, helping police narrow down the suspects’ movements.
Seven Delhi Police teams conducted raids across four states and examined hundreds of people during the investigation. The trail eventually led officers to Burdwan in West Bengal.
A police team flew to Bengal on June 6 and continued tracking the suspects through CCTV footage from Burdwan railway station after they deboarded the train. The accused were subsequently traced to their hideout.
On June 7, police apprehended Ramprashad Das (42), who runs a sanitary shop in Burdwan, and his wife Banashree Das (36), a homemaker. Their minor son was apprehended under provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Police recovered a mobile phone belonging to the deceased, a razor allegedly used to cut the victim’s wrists, a backpack, clothes, and a cap allegedly used during the commission of the crime, along with train tickets and other travel-related documents.
The accused are being produced before the court for transit remand and will be brought to Delhi for further investigation. Police said further investigation is under way.
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Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia
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