On the afternoon of May 23, Chandrakanta, a 64-year-old resident of Chhawla, opened her door to receive a courier. As she went inside to fetch a pen, the ‘courier boy,’ wearing a helmet, followed her inside and overpowered her, hitting her with a pistol. When Chandrakanta raised an alarm, the attacker fled.
The following day, police apprehended the suspect, revealing a surprising twist: the ‘courier boy’ was actually a woman, and the weapon used in the attack was a toy gun.
According to a statement by Delhi Police, the accused, Rekha, a 38-year-old former Civil Defence volunteer, explained that she had been struggling to meet her household expenses after her contract expired over a year ago. She targeted Chandrakanta, a homemaker whose husband works in a private company. “On May 23, the accused went to the victim’s house around 11 AM, when she is usually alone, in a courier boy’s attire, carrying a backpack with gloves, ropes, and clothes in it,” said police. Ankit Singh, DCP Dwarka, confirmed the accused had dressed up as a courier boy.
To avoid recognition, Rekha covered her face with a cloth, wore a helmet, and concealed the rest of her face with an umbrella. She attacked Chandrakanta with a toy pistol, hitting her multiple times.
As Chandrakanta’s face bled and she began screaming for help, the attacker fled to a vacant house about 100 meters away in the Somesh Vihar locality, where she changed her clothes. She then returned outside the victim’s house and blended in with the crowd to avoid suspicion.
After an FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections related to robbery, assault, and voluntarily causing hurt at the Chhawla police station, a crack team was formed to apprehend the suspect. The police received a tip-off that the accused was hiding in a vacant apartment in Somesh Vihar. With the help of CCTV footage, they captured the suspect on May 24.
A police press release stated that the accused had planned to kill Chandrakanta and escape with her jewelry and cash.