Overview
- Investigators reversed the initial short‑circuit theory after scene‑of‑crime analysis pointed to deliberate arson and the post‑mortem cited death by suffocation.
- Police allege the neighbor entered through a sliding window around 9 pm, demanded sexual cooperation, and smothered the victim when she resisted.
- Officers say the assailant gathered clothes in the vacant roommate’s bedroom and set them ablaze to destroy evidence before fleeing with the victim’s phone.
- Technical leads included discovery that the missing handset was being used, which helped identify the suspect from next door.
- The accused was arrested on January 10, remanded to three days of police custody, and booked under BNS sections including 103(1), 64(2), 66 and 238 as the probe continues.