Swiss woman murder: Victim’s autopsy yet to be conducted, several questions raised

New Delhi, Oct 24 : The autopsy of the Swiss woman is yet to be conducted as only the family members of the deceased woman can give their approval for conducting the post-mortem.

Sources said that the cops have informed the Swiss Embassy and are awaiting to trace the family of the victim, however, they are yet to get any update in the case.

The autopsy is of utmost importance as it will convey the cause of death and will also help police corroborate the accused, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Janakpuri, statement to the investigators.

The victim woman, Nina Berger, possibly hailing from Switzerland, was allegedly strangulated to death in Delhi, her hand and legs tied with a metal chain and later her body was dumped alongside a road wrapped inside a black plastic bag.

For the horrific crime, the police arrested Gurpreet, who claimed himself as a lover of the Swiss national.

Berger’s life came to a tragic end when her body was found near a school in west Delhi on October 20. Initially, there were inconsistencies in the statements made by the prime accused, Singh, who was subsequently arrested in connection with the crime.

Singh’s statements regarding the murder kept changing.

During the investigation, the police recovered various documents, including Nina’s passport and visas, from Singh’s possession.

According to Singh’s interrogation, he had met Nina in 2021 during his visit to Switzerland, and their friendship had grown into a close bond. Singh frequently travelled to Switzerland to be near Nina. Over time, he expressed his desire to marry her, but she rejected his proposal.

Nina had arrived in Delhi from Zurich on October 11 and was staying in a hotel. However, as the interrogation of the accused, Gurpreet, continued, it became evident that he was attempting to mislead the authorities.

Gurpreet initially claimed that two other individuals were involved in the murder, but within a few hours, he confessed to killing Nina on his own. Due to these contradictory statements, the police decided to conduct a psycho-analysis test on Gurpreet.

Significantly, the police discovered over Rs 2 Crore in cash at Gurpreet’s residence in Janakpuri.

Further investigation revealed substantial financial transactions through Gurpreet’s bank account, leading the investigators to notify the Income Tax authorities. These high-value transactions and the unaccounted cash raised suspicions that the case might be related to human trafficking, or possibly, Nina was part of such a criminal operation or she was the victim.

Gurpreet had purchased a second car in the name of a woman, who he claimed was a sex worker, but the police are still trying to locate the woman.