Mumbai crime: Killer of air hostess had rape on his mind, she hit him with the sickle he had brought

The accused, Bikram Atwal, with the Powai police

The Andheri court on Tuesday remanded Bikram Atwal, the man accused of murdering and attempting to rape a 23-year-old air hostess on September 3, to police custody for three days. "The victim and the accused frequently had verbal altercations several times. He held a grudge against the woman," said a police officer.

During the scuffle, the woman managed to grab the sickle that was being wielded by the alleged killer and landed blows to his head and hand with the wooden handle. A police officer said, "If she had beaten him with some more force the story would have been different today."

The incident came to light on Sunday night when a friend of the air hostess went to NG Complex in Marol and found the victim in a pool of blood. The police then apprehended Bikram as he had visible injuries on his face and hand. "He confessed to the police that he had entered the house with the intention to rape the woman," said a high-ranking official.

The Powai police stated in court that they needed custody of Atwal, 40, as they had not recovered the weapon with which he allegedly murdered the victim as well as the clothes of the accused. They also want to ascertain the timeline of the events. "We want to conduct a medical examination of the accused," the police said in court. The police claimed that Atwal and the victim had a verbal dispute on Friday and Sunday morning.

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According to the authorities, the accused had hidden a sickle in his clothes and had barged in with the intention to rape the victim. However, she resisted and he then slit her throat out of fear. Scratches are visible on the accused's face and neck. After allegedly murdering the victim, Atwal went to a washroom to clean the sickle and his bloodstained clothes but he was not able to do so.

He then went to his residence to change his clothes but he was scared to enter his house. When his wife questioned him about his injuries he said that he had hurt himself while picking up broken glass, according to the police.

"Initially, he did not cooperate with us, but then he had no choice but to confess. He is a very short-tempered man," said a police officer. Bikram has been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder). The police are yet to receive post-mortem reports, based on which they will add more sections.

Sept 3
Day murder occurred