A Delhi police constable and his two accomplices have been arrested for allegedly murdering a former woman constable two years ago, ANI reported on Sunday.

Police constable Surendra Singh, 42, allegedly strangulated the 28-year-old woman and hid her body in a drain in New Delhi’s Burari Pushta area in September 2021 after she refused to marry him, the police said. The accused was already married. The police have recovered the skeletal remains of the woman.

Singh was arrested along with his brother-in-law Ravin, 26, and Ravin’s friend Rajpal, 33. The three have been booked under Indian Penal Code’s sections 302 (murder) and 365 (kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person), among other relevant provisions.

The woman had been selected as a sub-inspector in the Uttar Pradesh Police, the police said. She was living in a paying guest accommodation in New Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar and preparing for the civil services examination. She previously worked for Delhi Police.

Her mother filed a missing person’s complaint at the Mukherjee Nagar police station on October 20, 2021. But when the woman could not be traced, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora reportedly transferred the case to the crime branch at the family’s request.

Singh had allegedly made Ravin call the woman’s family from multiple locations, identifying himself as one Arvind. He told the family that he had got married to her.

“Ravin would tell the family that he was on the run with the victim and that there was a life threat to her,” said Special Commissioner (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav. “He would also make the family listen to her audio recording, making them believe that she was alive.”

He would also plant copies of the woman’s identity proofs at various places in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, while Singh kept visiting the family, The Times of India reported.

Police said that this came to light after the family informed them of these calls. The crime branch traced the numbers, after which Ravin and Rapal were arrested. Rajpal had allegedly helped Ravin secure a SIM card using fake documents.