Swiss woman's body found with limbs chained; man held

A Swiss national was allegedly murdered by a Delhi resident for turning down his marriage proposal, Delhi police officials said on Saturday, a day after the body of the woman believed to be in her mid-thirties was found in Tilak Nagar with her hands and feet tied with metal chains.

The accused has been identified as Janakpuri resident Gurpreet Singh, while the victim's identity is yet to be conclusively established with investigators saying that Singh changed his statements repeatedly.

What has been established, however, is that Singh on Thursday dumped the body next to an MCD school in Tilak Nagar, where it was discovered on Friday morning. What happened before that is still being verified, an officer aware of the matter said, citing the repeatedly varying explanations Singh gave.

The police have reached out to the embassy of Switzerland for help with confirming the identity of the woman.

In what officers described as his "last believable" version, Singh met the woman while on a trip to Switzerland and the two became friends. "The woman was not keen on turning their friendship into a romantic relationship. Singh, however, wanted to marry her and constantly kept in touch with her over chats and phone calls," said the officer cited above, who asked not to be named.

On his insistence that she visit India to see the country, the police said citing Singh's statement, the woman arrived in Delhi on October 11. "On Wednesday morning, Singh strangulated the woman to death in a hatchback car," added the officer.