Noida: IRS Officer Arrested After Partner's Body Found Hanging In Flat

A young woman's body was discovered hanging from a noose in a luxurious Noida apartment on May 26th. Saurabh Meena, an officer with the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), was taken into custody in connection with the woman's death. The residents of the posh Lotus Boulevard apartment complex in Noida's Sector 100 were taken aback when police raced to Tower 8 of the society. When they reached Meena's flat, they found the corpse of Shilpa Gautam, a Human Resources official at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), hung from a fabric rope in one of the rooms.

Allegations and Suspicions

Gautam and Meena allegedly had a three-year romance, according to Gautam's family. They apparently met on a dating app, and their romance quickly bloomed. They claim that promises of marriage turned sour, leading to heated arguments and, tragically, Gautam's untimely death. Gautam's father, OP Gautam, has gone so far as to accuse Saurabh of murder, claiming that his daughter's life was taken deliberately. In his complaint to the Sector-39 police, OP Gautam said that Meena duped Gautam with false promises of marriage and repeatedly harassed her. The cops filed a report and arrested Saurabh.

However, Meena provides an alternative take on their relationship. While admitting to meeting Gautam via a dating app, he disputes the duration and intensity of their relationship. He denied the accusations made against him, claiming they barely met three months prior.

According to Manish Kumar Mishra, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Noida, the police produced Saurabh to a court and he was remanded in judicial custody. "All aspects of the case are being investigated meticulously," Mr. Mishra said. 

Police are awaiting a post-mortem report to determine the exact cause of death. Meanwhile, they are scrutinising both people's cell phones and studying CCTV footage from the society to piece together the circumstances that led to Gautam's death.

Previous Cases 

In April of this year, a 26-year-old woman's body was discovered stuffed in an almirah inside a home in Delhi's Dwarka sector. According to authorities, the woman's father, who was present when the body was discovered, claimed she was murdered by her live-in partner, Vipal Tailor.  In the highly publicised case in May 2022, 27-year-old Sharddha Walker was also murdered by her live-in partner, Aaftab Amin Poonawala, in Delhi. He killed Shraddha after a dispute and then chopped her body into 35 pieces.