A 30-year-old watchman of a girl’s hostel in South Mumbai is alleged to have raped and strangled an 18-year-old girl to death in her hostel room. The incident occurred on Monday night, and the accused, identified as Om Prakash Kanojia, later died by suicide by jumping in front of a running train. The Marine Drive police received information about the crime in the afternoon and discovered that the rape and murder likely took place between 11.30 pm on Monday and 4 am on Tuesday.
The girl’s body was found in her locked room by hostel staff who had been searching for her. The police confirmed the girl had been strangled to death and are awaiting the postmortem report to determine if she was raped.
Investigations revealed that Kanojia, who hailed from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and had been working at the hostel for several years, had a history of harassing the victim. He was later found dead near Charni Road railway station after jumping in front of a train. The police have registered a case of rape and murder and are awaiting further forensic evidence to confirm the sexual assault.
