Swiss woman murder case: Court directs Director FSL to expedite result and file report

New Delhi [India], January 31 : Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Director of the Forensic Science Lab, Delhi and directed him to expedite the FSL results pending in the Swiss woman murder case. The Court also directed him to file an appropriate report before the next date of hearing.
The matter is related to the alleged murder of a Swiss woman in the Tilak Nagar area in October 2023. The Delhi police have already filed a charge sheet. This matter is at the stage of arguments on charge and the FSL report is awaited.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vijay Shankar directed the director of FSL to expedite the results and file an appropriate report.
"Issue notice to the Director, FSL, Rohini, Delhi, with direction to expedite the FSL result and file an appropriate report in respect of the FSL result on or before the next date of hearing," ASJ Vijay Shankar ordered on January 30, 2024.
The court has also issued notice to the SHO of Tilak Nagar police station with directions to file an appropriate report in respect of the FSL result on or before the next date of hearing.
A notice has also been issued to the Investigation Officer (IO) for the next date of hearing.
The court has put up the matter for arguments on charge on March 18, 2024.
This matter has been assigned to ASJ Vijay Shankar after cognizance of the charge sheet.
The court has requested the Secretary, DLSA, West District, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi, to appoint a legal aid counsel to the accused, Gurpreet Singh, alias Mandeep Singh.
During the hearing, accused Gurpreet Singh informed the court that he was not having any counsel and legal aid counsel be provided to him.
On January 15, the court took cognizance of the charge sheet filed in the Swiss woman murder case.
Delhi police had arrested Gurpreet Singh for allegedly murdering Swiss woman Nina Berger. He was arrested on October 21.
The charge sheet has been filed under sections 302, 201, 404, 482, 411 against accused Gurpreet Singh alias Mandeep Singh.
Delhi police Police have filed a 1,000-page charge sheet under sections related to murder, destruction of evidence, etc.
Delhi police have invoked sections 302 (murder), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 404 (misappropriating or using the property of a deceased person), 482 (punishment for using false property marks), and 411 (found in possession of stolen property).
As per Delhi police, an unidentified woman's body found near the wall of an MCD school located in Tilak Nagar was that of a Swiss national, police said on Saturday, adding that the accused has been arrested.
The police had also seized the car used in the commission of the crime by the accused.
Following the murder, as per police sources, accused Gurpreet dumped the body in the same car on a roadside.
During the interrogation, the accused revealed that he had met the woman through a social media networking website four years ago.
"The meeting, which took place three to four years ago, turned into a friendship, and the accused fell in love with the girl. However, the girl had another boyfriend, which did not go down well with the accused," police said.
"The accused called the girl from Switzerland to India on the pretext of meeting her and then tied the girl's hands and legs with a chain, saying that he would give her a surprise in 10 minutes and choked her to death," police added.
According to the police, the accused had purchased a car by showing the ID of another girl and dumped the body in the Tilak Nagar area.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer had said that they had received a call between 8:45 a.m. and 9 a.m. at Tilak Nagar police station about the incident, and specialised teams reached the spot.
"Prima Facie, we thought that it was a murder case. We registered a case under sections 302 and 201 and started an investigation. Nearby cameras showed a suspicious car passing by... We identified the car, it was brought from a second-hand car dealer in Janakpuri with cash. We traced an accused named Gurpreet. He was using the car... We apprehended Gurpreet from Janakpuri last night."
"Only initial interrogation has taken place. He is not very cooperative. It is a confirmed fact that the body was dumped in a car. The victim was in touch with the accused for last 8-10 days," DCP Veer added.
Police said they have recovered Rs 1.5 crore from the accused, which he had allegedly acquired by selling the property.
Earlier, police said they had formed multiple teams after an unidentified woman was found dead near the wall of an MCD school located in Tilak Nagar on Friday morning.