Swiss Woman Murder Case: Delhi Court Takes Cognizance of Chargesheet

Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court on Monday took cognizance of the charge sheet filed in the Swiss woman murder case.

The accused, Gurpreet Singh was arrested by the Delhi police in October 2023 for allegedly murdering a Swiss woman, Nina Berger.

Metropolitan Magistrate Divanshu Sajlan took cognizance of the charge sheet filed under sections 302, 201, 404, 482, and 411 against accused Gurpreet Singh alias Mandeep Singh.

The court also committed the case to the court of Principal District and Sessions judge and has directed to produce the accused before the district judge on January 30, 2024.

A thousand-page charge sheet has been filed by the Delhi Police under sections relating to murder, destruction of evidence and so on. Delhi Police has invoked the following; sections 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 404 (Misappropriating or using the property of a deceased person), 482 (punishment for using false property marks), 411 (found in possession of stolen property).

As per Delhi police, an unidentified woman’s body found near the wall of an MCD school located in Tilak Nagar was that of a Swiss national. They had also seized the car used in the commission of the crime by the accused.

As per police sources, following the murder, the accused had allegedly dumped the body in the same car on a roadside. During the interrogation, the accused revealed that he had met the woman through a social media networking website four years ago.

“The meeting, which took place three to four years ago, turned into a friendship, and the accused fell in love with the girl. However, the girl had another boyfriend, which did not go down well with the accused,” police said.

“The accused called the girl from Switzerland to India on the pretext of meeting her and then tied the girl’s hands and legs with a chain, saying that he would give her a surprise in 10 minutes and choked her to death,” police added.

According to the police, the accused had purchased a car by showing the ID of another girl and dumped the body in the Tilak Nagar area. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer had said that they had received a call between 8:45 am and 9 am at Tilak Nagar police station about the incident, and specialized teams reached the spot.

“Prima facie, we thought that it was a murder case. We registered a case under sections 302 and 201 and started an investigation… Nearby cameras showed a suspicious car passing by… We identified the car; it was brought from a second-hand car dealer in Janakpuri with cash… We traced an accused named Gurpreet. He was using the car… We apprehended Gurpreet from Janakpuri last night…”

“Only initial interrogation has taken place… He is not very cooperative… It is a confirmed fact that the body was dumped in a car… The victim was in touch with the accused for last 8-10 days…,” DCP Veer added.

Police said they have recovered Rs 1.5 crore from the accused, which he had allegedly acquired by selling the property.