It was about 6 am on Wednesday. Just three days to go for her Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) preliminary examination, a 22-year-old aspirant was in the last phase of her preparation.  She was studying in a room on the terrace of the house.

Within an hour,  she was allegedly sexually assaulted and strangled to death with a mobile phone charger at the Southeast Delhi home, said police. About 14 hours later, the accused, Rahul Meena, 23, a former house help who was sacked recently, was arrested from Dwarka.

The 22-year-old, an IIT graduate and the daughter of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, had been preparing for the UPSC for over a year now. She had managed to get top grades even when she was in school, said her family. She had earned accolades for extracurricular activities too, including dance.

“She was a prodigious student from the get-go. She had her prelims in the next three days. He (Rahul) targeted her for what? She did not fire her… it was a consequence of his own actions,” said her uncle at the condolence meeting later in the day.

“She was a prodigious student from the get-go. She had her prelims in the next three days. He (Rahul) targeted her for what? She did not fire her… it was a consequence of his own actions,” said her uncle at the condolence meeting later in the day.