New Delhi: The Delhi Police said that they have got five more days of police custody of the accused, Gurpreet Singh, who allegedly murdered Swiss national Nina Berger and dumped her body near a school in west Delhi on October 20, with limbs and legs bound with chains.
“The accused was produced in the court today (Monday) and again five days of police custody has been obtained,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer.
“Further, we have been communicating with the Embassy of Switzerland and have managed to get the fingerprint of Nina Berger, through the official channel, which was matched against that of the deceased. The match was successful. This pinpoints the identity of the deceased as Nina Berger. Last remains of the deceased have been handed over on Monday to the person authorised by the embassy,”the DCP added.
During the last hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Devanshu Sajlan of the Tis Hazari Court extended Singh’s police custody by five days on October 25 after the Delhi Police sought an extension to question him.
Gurpreet Singh (33), the prime accused in the case, has claimed during investigation that he was in touch with the Swiss national because of his father’s gemstone and astrology business.
According to the police, Singh claimed to possess expertise in “black magic, astrology and mind powers”.
He told the interrogators that he utilised these ‘abilities’ to establish contact with Berger and persuade her to come to India. He frequently discussed his father’s business, the art of healing through gemstones and astrology techniques with the victim.
Upon inspecting his phone, the police found that he frequently engaged in conversations with foreign nationals, offering his purported ‘healing’ services.
During investigation, the police recovered various documents, including Berger’s passport and visa, from Singh’s possession. A laptop, mobile phone and other documents, reportedly belonging to Berger, were also recovered from his possession which have been sent for a forensic test.
Meanwhile, the police are reviewing the CCTV footage and interviewing hotel staff at two establishments in west Delhi where Berger stayed between October 11 and 17.
As per Singh’s questioning, he met Berger in 2021 during his visit to Switzerland, and soon their friendship developed into a close bond. Singh frequently travelled to Switzerland to be near Nina. Over time, he expressed his desire to marry her, but she had turned down his proposal.
Berger came to Delhi from Zurich on October 11 and was staying in a hotel. However, as the questioning of Singh continued, it became evident that he was trying to mislead the police.
According to sources, the examination of Singh’s mobile phone revealed that he was in touch with at least a dozen women, all foreign nationals, an evidence that possibly links the case to the police’s human trafficking theory.
The police also seized more than two crore rupees in cash from Singh’s residence in west Delhi’s Janakpuri.
Further investigation revealed substantial financial transactions through Singh’s bank account, leading the investigators to notify the Income Tax authorities. These high-value transactions and the unaccounted cash have raised suspicions that the case might be linked to human trafficking.
–IANS
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