Police said a rape and murder case has been filed based on a complaint by the woman's family (File)
After the body of a woman IT professional was found hanging at a Noida hotel, the police have taken her colleague into custody as they investigate a case of her alleged rape and murder, officials said on Thursday.
Besides him, the names of two more of their mutual friends and a computer operator working at a police station in Noida have also cropped up in the case, the officials said.
The 26-year-old IT professional working for a leading MNC was found hanging from the ceiling fan of the hotel room in Sector 70 on Tuesday.
While it appeared to be a case of suicide, an FIR was lodged under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) at the local Phase-3 police station over a complaint by the woman's family, a police spokesperson said.
"From the investigation till now, the online booking was done by the deceased woman herself and according to the CCTV footage of the hotel, she had arrived alone at the hotel on August 1," the spokesperson said.
She was friends with a person, who was working in the same company, but for past some days there was a rift between them, the official said.
"On Monday morning a video/audio was sent by the deceased to this friend, in which she mentioned the name of a third person who was friends with both of them. This third person worked as a computer operator at the Noida Sector 49 police station," the official added.
The police said the post-mortem report of the woman showed the cause of death has been found to be "asphyxia as a result of ante-mortem hanging".
On the basis of the complaint given by the woman's family, the investigation is being done by registering the case under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 302 (murder), the spokesperson said.
"The colleague of the woman has been taken into custody and being interrogated. The other two persons who worked in the same company are also being questioned," the official said.
"As for the computer operator, a police team has been formed to take him also into custody for investigation," the spokesperson added.
The police said the CCTV footage of the entire incident, WhatsApp chat, post-mortem report and all other points are being investigated thoroughly.
The case is being closely supervised by Deputy Commissioner of Police Women Safety Meenakshi Katyayan and Additional DCP Ankita Sharma, the official added.
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