GURGAON: A 23-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her maternal cousin, who had come to the city seeking work and was staying near her rented room in IMT Manesar.Police said he then hid her body inside a bed box in the room, covered her face with a plastic bag and fled. The murder was discovered after one of her colleagues came looking for her and to find out why she had suddenly stopped reporting for work.The victim — Soni (23) from Hardoi village in UP — worked at Dhoot Transmission Private Limited near her rented accommodation in Shankar Ki Dhani colony in Manesar. The accused, identified as Devesh, her maternal cousin from the same village, had arrived in the city on May 6 in search of a job and taken a room on rent nearby.Soni, according to police, had been helping him line up interviews. He had appeared for several of them, but had not yet found work. On May 10, the two allegedly had a heated argument inside her house, after which Devesh is suspected to have strangled her with a rope.“After the killing, he allegedly covered her face with a plastic bag, stuffed the body into the bed box and escaped,” a police official said.The crime surfaced on Sunday evening when Soni did not turn up for work and did not answer calls either. A female colleague went to check on her and found the room bolted from outside. She entered the room when she found a foul smell and opened the bed box. Residents then alerted police.Teams from IMT Manesar police station, the crime branch and forensic unit reached the spot and collected evidence. Soni was taken to a local hospital, where she was declared dead.“The murder appears to have taken place on Sunday. When she did not report for work, her colleague went to her room and found her dead. The exact motive will be clear after the accused is arrested,” an officer said.Police said Soni had completed an ITI course and earned around Rs 14,000 a month. Her parents were informed and reached Gurgaon on Tuesday. The autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.An FIR was registered at IMT Manesar police station under Section 103(1) of BNS for murder. The accused is absconding.
