Revealed: The shocking details of how Swiss woman was murdered in Delhi

It has been ten days since the decomposing body of Swiss national, identified as Nina Berger, was found behind an MCD school in New Delhi. The body was wrapped in a black disposal bag, with hands and legs tied in metal chains. The accused, who is a gemstone businessman from Janakpuri and seemingly Berger’s scorned lover, Gurpreet Singh, has been arrested for the gruesome crime. Horrific details have emerged as a postmortem was carried out after the victim’s Zurich-based family approved it. Suffocated to death, not strangled 30-year-old Nina Berger was suffocated to death using a plastic bag in a Santro car and not strangled, according to NDTV sources which cited the post-mortem report. The report said that her hands, legs and mouth were tied at the time, and the accused laughed at her as she desperately tried to free herself. The news channel’s sources added that the victim struggled for life for about 30 minutes before giving up. “Her eyes protruded and the accused laughed seeing her misery,” the report stated, adding that he dumped her body in the seat adjacent to the driver’s seat. Singh also used black sunshades on the car windows.

The development comes after the Delhi police had the autopsy of Berger’s body conducted on Friday. It was carried out at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, according to the Times of India. A police officer said, “We received a no-objection certificate from the woman’s parents through the Swiss embassy.” The news outlet quoted Vichitra Veer, DCP (West), as saying, “We have been coordinating with the Switzerland embassy through established channels on the case. While we are yet to get confirmation of the victim’s identity, the embassy gave the go ahead for the autopsy.” The Swiss national’s body was found half covered in a black disposal bag near a government school in Tilak Nagar on 20 October, reported NDTV. Berger landed in the National Capital on 11 October and a few days later the accused executed his murder plan. He bought a car using a fake identity and kept her body inside until foul smell started emanating from it. This prompted him to throw the body on the road. As per the report, the police traced Singh after retrieving the vehicle’s registration number using CCTV footage. They seized two cars belonging to him, including the one in which the body was kept. The cops also reportedly recovered Rs 2.25 crore from the accused’s house. The reason for murder TOI report claims Singh told interrogators that he was wanted to marry Berger, whom he befriended in Switzerland through a dating website in 2021. He used to visit the woman in Switzerland and suspected her of being in a relationship with another man. Thus, he planned to kill her after inviting her to India. According to the report, the accused lured foreigners, especially women, using astrology which he learnt from his father. “Despite being unemployed, he had travelled to foreign countries several times and met people apparently to treat them through astrology,” TOI cited its sources. Hawala links found The report also suggests the Delhi cops also found several evidence showing Singh received money through hawala. “We suspect he received hefty amounts from them and used the hawala route to bring the money into the country,” its sources said. The police also recovered foreign currency during their search. They are further probing the source and the reason of these payments and whether he was involved in a racket. The income tax department and Enforcement Directorate are also probing this matter. Complication in the case According to Indian Express, the victim’s parents have refused to come to Delhi to physically identify the body and cooperate with the investigation. However, they have confirmed their daughter’s name, which is Nina Berger. In such cases, family members usually provide circumstantial evidence, like chats, travel tickets, immigration details through the concerned Embassy, used as additional material during the probe. A senior officer privy to the ongoing probe told the news outlet, “While direct evidence is usually given out by eyewitnesses, here, the only prime identification of Nina has been done by Gurpreet who has been constantly changing his versions pertaining to the motive behind the crime.” Another option to identify the body is to carry DNA testing, match it with that of her kin. Moreover, considering the family’s reluctance to come to the National Capital, the police might also go to Switzerland for the probe. A senior officer told Indian Express, “One option for the police is to travel abroad, and get details from the (the family) on Nina and her travel here, which will be crucial evidence.” The report cited another officer as saying that if Berger’s family joins the probe, or wants to carry her mortal remains back home later, according to the guidelines, they would be handed over a piece of cloth. And if the deceased is cremated, their ashes would be handed over to the family. With inputs from agencies