Unaware she was dead, killer stripped Monika Ghurde to film, blackmail her

Panaji: Well-known perfumer Monika Ghurde’s alleged murderer Rajkumar Singh, alias Rajesh, on Monday told Goa police that after smothering Ghurde, he undressed her to film her and wanted to blackmail her with the video.

Monika Ghurde was found dead on Last week at her Goa residence. The alleged killer, 22-year-old Rajkumar was arrested on Sunday, after he took a selfie standing in front of an apparel shop in Bengaluru and posted it on Facebook, alerting the police.

The accused was a security guard at the apartment in Sangolda in North Goa where Ghurde lived. He had also made a startling revelation that he raped the 39-year-old perfumer before smothering her to death.

According to a report, during police interrogation, Rajkumar said that after smothering Ghurde, he thought she was unconscious. Thinking she would wake up, he went into the kitchen, boiled two eggs and ate them. But, as Ghurde was still unconscious, he checked on her and realised she had died. He then fled from the spot.

“It is still unclear whether he filmed Ghurde,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying in the report.

Rajkumar, who hails from Punjab, was on the run after the murder came to light on Thursday morning. He was nabbed in a lodge in Cottonpet.

Sources revealed that the preliminary questioning of the accused revealed that he had raped Monika Ghurde before smothering her to death. “Earlier he was working in Mumbai and had moved to Goa just six months ago. He confessed that he had planned the crime well in advance and had entered her flat late on Wednesday night. He revealed that he tied her hands as she was asleep and raped her, before smothering her using a pillow,” an official said.

However, it is not yet known whether he had any accomplices in the crime. The Goan police were questioning him further.