Prateek Tanmay
3 min readNew DelhiMay 31, 2026 08:16 AM IST
About a month before he allegedly raped and murdered the 22-year-old daughter of an IRS officer in Southeast Delhi on April 22, Rahul Meena (23) had left the officer’s house where he worked as a domestic help after borrowing Rs 75,000 from local vendors and a security guard. He was, however, brought back to Delhi from Rajgarh village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district by his uncle after he, police said, arranged the money for Meena to repay the debt.
Meena, however, did not return the money but instead used Rs 15,000 from the amount to again invest in online gaming. He also continued to work at the IRS officer’s house.
According to police, Meena’s gaming addiction continued even after he was eventually sacked by the officer’s family on March 15 following reports of him taking loans from people in the neighbourhood and he returned to his village.
He allegedly again borrowed Rs 90,000 from a man in his village. The man’s wife later filed a rape complaint against Meena, alleging that he sexually assaulted her the night before he travelled to Delhi and allegedly raped the IRS officer’s daughter, a IIT graduate and UPSC aspirant.
Meena’s uncle, who worked at a government office in Rajasthan, had recommended Rahul for a job when the IRS officer had visited the office last year, police have said.
“After joining work at the IRS officer’s house last year, Rahul Meena accumulated a debt of Rs 75,000 from local vendors and a guard deployed at a building due to his addiction to online gaming. He then fled to his village in March this year,” said an officer.
The IRS officer then allegedly asked Meena’s uncle to bring him back and ensure that the money was returned.
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“On March 15, the uncle arranged the money and brought him back to Delhi. But Rahul again took Rs 15,000 from the amount and used it in online poker,” the officer said.
“The uncle again gave him another Rs 15,000. Meena then finally repaid the vendors in the presence of the IRS officer. He was also immediately removed from the job,” the officer added. By then Meena had worked for around 18 months for the family.
Police said Meena returned to his village but his financial troubles only worsened, as his total debts had mounted to nearly Rs 7 lakh due to online gaming. “Under pressure to repay the Rs 90,000 he had borrowed in his village, he came to Delhi on the morning of April 22 to steal from the IRS officer’s house,” the officer said.
He allegedly waited for the victim’s parents to leave for their morning walk before entering the house.
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During questioning, police said Meena had claimed that he entered the bathroom adjoining the rooftop study room through a shaft. He then asked the victim for money. When she refused, it led to a physical altercation.
