The estranged husband of the 45-year-old Delhi University assistant professor who was murdered in her apartment in Vasundhara Enclave on earlier in the week joined the police investigation on Saturday evening, officers aware of the development said.
Police said the professor and her husband were entangled in a divorce dispute over the past four years.
“He said that he was earlier in Bengaluru and moved to Pune for work in 2024,” said an officer, who did not wish to be named.
According to investigators, the man said he was in Pune at the time of the incident. “He said that his lawyer had communicated to the victim’s lawyer in May and decided to divorce mutually,” the officer cited above said.
The 45-year-old assistant professor was found dead in her sixth-floor flat in Vasundhara Enclave on Thursday afternoon. Investigators have since determined that the murder took place within a five-and-a-half-hour window between Wednesday afternoon and evening.
According to police, there was no sign of forced entry into the apartment, indicating that the victim likely knew her attacker. Forensic experts recovered a single set of unidentified fingerprints from inside the flat, and investigators believe only one person was directly involved in the killing.
Police said they have identified 13 people who entered the society on Wednesday and are trying to establish the purpose of their visit. Among them are a woman, a man and a 10-year-old boy who were seen entering and leaving one of the residential blocks within minutes.
Investigators have also learnt that two masked individuals, including a woman, arrived at the society in a cab on Wednesday afternoon. The duo allegedly changed clothes before leaving nearly half an hour later, while the driver waited outside. Officers said efforts are underway to identify and question them.
Meanwhile, the college where the woman worked issued a condolence message describing the professor’s death as an “irreparable loss” to the college and the academic community.
