Mobile Phone, CCTV Footage Helped Goa Police Arrest Monika Ghurde's Alleged Murderer

Mumbai: Perfume stylist Monika Ghurde's alleged murderer was arrested after investigators tracked her missing phone to an ATM where he was seen in CCTV footage, sources in Goa police said on Tuesday.

“We tracked the number and found that it was active. The number took us to an ATM where CCTV footage confirmed it was a man using Ghurde’s debit card,” said a senior official from Goa police.", said a senior official from Goa police.

Goa police arrested Rajkumar Singh from Bengaluru on Sunday after the investigating team tracked Ghurde’s phone which was missing from the spot of murder.

Background checks by police revealed that Rajkumar Singh had lost his job as a watchman in the society where Ghurde lived after she accused him of stealing her umbrella.

“We found that Singh, who worked as a watchman at the society, lost his job a few months ago because the victim had accused him of stealing her umbrella. He did not even receive the last-month salary from the society,” said the official.

With the help of CCTV footage police confirmed that the man in the CCTV footage is Singh. They followed further leads and found Singh at a lodge in Bengaluru.

“Prima facie it seems that Singh, who is originally from Bhatinda in Punjab, was holding a grudge against the deceased as he lost his job a few months ago,” added another officer from Goa.

According to police, Singh had withdrawn a total of around Rs one lakh from various ATM kiosks before escaping to Bengaluru.

A senior police official from Goa also said the mobile phone seized from the accused will be sent for forensic test as he in a statement said that he had videographed Monica after smothering her to later blackmail her.

When asked whether the accused in his statement said he had initially thought that Monica was unconscious, the officer said all his claims need not necessarily be true.

The 21-year old was arrested on Sunday, four days after perfume specialist Monica Ghurde was found murdered in her flat. Ghurde’s body was found in the bedroom of her flat in Goa and the lower part of the body was unclothed.