Muslim gym teacher in India murdered Hindu woman, police accused of failing to act on prior warnings

Ashlyn Davis reports a Muslim gym trainer in west Delhi murdered a Hindu woman:

A 26-year-old Muslim gym trainer identified as Mohammad Imran, alias Aqib, strangled and stabbed a 21-year-old Hindu woman to death inside her home in West Delhi on August 26, after weeks of alleged harassment and threats. Police identified the victim as Muskan Sharma, a Delhi University student and part-time model and content creator, and arrested her former gym trainer two days after the killing.

Police sources have confirmed that Imran had visited Muskan’s home in Old Mahavir Nagar, Tilak Nagar, on the evening of August 26, where she stayed alone. CCTV cameras captured him entering the building between 5:40 pm and 5:45 pm.

According to reports, Imran strangled Muskan before stabbing her multiple times with a knife and fleeing the scene. A domestic worker later found her lying seriously injured on the floor and alerted people in the neighborhood. Her relatives and neighbors rushed her to a hospital, but doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Imran also took the victim’s mobile phone after the attack in an attempt to erase or destroy digital evidence that could link him to the crime. According to police, he allegedly tried to delete data from the iPhone, but failed. He subsequently discarded the device near a drain in West Delhi. Police later recovered the phone, and the device ultimately helped investigators trace Imran. Officials formed several teams and launched a search for Imran. Investigators examined CCTV footage and followed other leads before locating him in Rajouri Garden on August 27.

Police said officers confronted Imran and ordered him to surrender. According to the police account, Imran pulled out a pistol and fired several rounds at the officers. The police team returned fire and shot him in both legs. Officers arrested him and took him to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital for treatment.

Investigators have since examined Imran’s relationship with Muskan and the events that preceded the murder. Police claim the two had known each other for about 18 months after meeting at the gym where Imran worked as a trainer. Their relationship later deteriorated, and Muskan decided to distance herself from him. Officials also suspect that Imran became increasingly possessive after Muskan ended the relationship, and are examining whether jealousy and anger over the change in their relationship motivated the attack. However, Muskan’s family has discounted such assumptions.

Muskan’s family has also accused the police of failing to act on earlier warnings. Muskan had approached a police station on July 18 and complained that Imran was harassing her. Police sources also verify that Imran had a history of drug use and was sent to a de-addiction center after a complaint from Muskan’s family. He was released on July 30 after allegedly injuring himself while at the center. Muskan’s family has alleged that Imran continued harassing and following her for several months and said they expected police to have intervened before the situation escalated.

Now the officers who immobilized the monster by blasting his legs did the right thing, and injuring his legs is a punishment that such offenders should receive more often. But those police officials who failed to act upon previous information did the wrong thing, and must be penalized for enabling such a horrific crime to occur. How much more of these repulsive incidents must it take to understand why serious vigilance is required to prevent them?