Cops Plan DNA Test Of Swiss Woman Murdered In Delhi

Police are planning to conduct a DNA test on a Swiss woman whose chained body was found in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar last week, official sources said on Wednesday.

Delhi Police on Wednesday said it has received information via the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that the family members of the woman -- Nina Berger -- may not come to India for the identification of the body, which is kept at a hospital mortuary.

The decomposed body of Berger, aged around 30 years, was found near the wall of a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school in Tilak Nagar on Friday. Her limbs were tied with metal chains that were locked.

Police have arrested Gurpreet Singh, who has revealed that he dumped the body after killing the woman in a car.

Singh allegedly deleted all chats with the Swiss woman from his two mobile phones before his arrest, the police said.

Police sources said the woman used to work at a law firm in Switzerland.

Her iPhone has been recovered but could not be unlocked, the police said, adding they are taking the help of cyber experts to open the phone.

Police said that investigators had recovered three mobile phones, including two of the accused.

From Singh's mobile phones, it was found that he was in touch with over a dozen foreign women, they said.

"From his chats with other women, it appears that he would befriend foreign women on the pretext of providing them gemstones for their health and progress," an officer said.

It is suspected that he had used the same trick to call Berger to Delhi from Switzerland.

During interrogation, Singh said he wanted to marry Berger but she had turned down his request.

Berger came to the city on October 11 on Singh's request and stayed in a hotel in west Delhi.

Police said several documents and belongings of the deceased were found from the possession of the accused and those might be used for matching with the DNA sample collected from the body.

"We will get the post-mortem examination conducted by a board of doctors, but only after getting the NOC (no-objection certificate) or approval from the Swiss embassy," a senior police officer said.

Collecting DNA samples is a part of police investigation. The woman's family has shown reluctance in coming to Delhi for the identification of the body, the officer added.

Forensic experts have collected blood and other evidence from the Hyundai Santro car that was allegedly used for dumping the chained body of the Swiss woman.

Police said the accused tried to mislead them and is still being interrogated.

On Wednesday, the accused was produced before a court that extended his police custody for five more days.

Police said Singh's father, who is into the business of gemstones and astrology, is yet to be questioned as he is out of the country. Singh's other family members have already been questioned.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)