delhi

Updated: Sep 21, 2017 11:39 IST

Three days after a woman’s partially-clad body was found at the Bhalswa landfill site, the police on Tuesday said a man has been arrested for killing her after trying to sexually assault her.

A senior police officer said that the accused, Saufi, had tried to sexually abuse the woman in return for monetary help and killed her when she refused and raised an alarm.

Police added that Saufi, then allegedly went on to try to rape the injured woman and managed to partially remove her clothes, but was not able to rape her out of fear of being caught.

The 35-year-old victim, a widow and a mother of three, collected garbage from the landfill site for a living. Saufi was engaged in the same work.

The woman met Saufi on Saturday when they were collecting garbage. During casual conversation, she mentioned that she was suffering from kidney stones and needed money for treatment.

When she asked Saufi to lend her money, he allegedly demanded sexual favours in return and tried to approach her. However, the woman refused and raised an alarm. Saufi then allegedly hit the woman with a stick until she collapsed.

The woman’s body was discovered in the landfill site around 8.30pm the same evening.

Police said Saufi took a keen interest in helping the investigators solve the case. However, his behaviour came across as suspicious, forcing the police to shift the focus of the investigation towards him.

He confessed to the crime on Tuesday when police put him through sustained interrogation. Milind Dumbere, DCP (north-west), confirmed that sexual assault was the primary motive behind the murder.