18-year-old found murdered inside trial room in Delhi; suspect on the run

The victim, Shabnam, worked at a showroom near Moti Nagar Metro Station and lived with her family in west Delhi, they said.

NEW DELHI: An 18-year-old woman working at a clothing showroom in west Delhi's Moti Nagar was allegedly murdered after her throat was slit inside a trial room on Saturday evening, police said.Investigators suspect the murder may have stemmed from unrequited love and strained personal relations.According to news agency PTI, the victim, identified as Shabnam, worked at a showroom near Moti Nagar Metro Station and lived with her family in west Delhi.According to the preliminary investigation, the accused, who allegedly knew Shabnam and had been friends with her, reached the showroom around the time her shift was due to end on Saturday.He allegedly took her into a trial room and attacked her neck with a sharp-edged weapon before fleeing, police said.The two had reportedly been on friendly terms earlier, but their relationship had soured over the past few months. Police suspect that a fallout in their personal relationship may have led to the murder.

An eyewitness, Ashu, told news agency IANS, Shabnam was last seen sitting at the showroom around 6.45 pm.

"We had seen the girl sitting there at 6.45. Then, at 7.30 or 7.45, I got a call from the owner of her shop saying, Shabnam isn't anywhere to be seen.""We immediately called the police, saying we were calling them in, and called her parents, telling them, 'Please come quickly. Something has happened to Shabnam.' Meanwhile, we were thinking of calling an ambulance too, but then we said we'd call one as soon as the police arrived.

The police arrived within 10 minutes," she added further.The incident came to light around 9 pm when other showroom employees, preparing to close the establishment, checked the trial room and found Shabnam lying in a pool of blood.They alerted the police, who rushed to the showroom and found injury marks on her neck caused by a sharp-edged weapon.

Her body was taken into custody and sent for a post-mortem examination, police said.Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the showroom to establish the sequence of events and trace the accused's movements and escape route.

Police teams have been conducting raids to apprehend the accused. All possible angles, including a suspected case of unrequited love, are being investigated, officials said.