Swiss woman murder accused tried to lure other foreign women too with gemstones: Cops
New Delhi (PTI): The 33-year-old Delhi man arrested for allegedly killing a Swiss woman here had promised precious gemstones and offered astrology tricks to other foreign women too to befriend them, police sources said on Thursday.
Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Delhi's Janakpuri, told interrogators he was in touch with multiple foreign women apart from Nina Berger, whose body was found near an MCD-run school on October 20 with limbs tied with a chain.
Singh's father has a business of gemstones and astrology in west Delhi. He is currently believed to be in Paris.
The police suspect Gurpreet Singh learned astrology from his father and used it to lure foreign women. He used the same trick to befriend Berger and lure her to come to India, they suspect.
She came to India on October 11 and stayed in two different hotels in west Delhi. "In the first, she stayed till October 16. Then she shifted to another hotel, where we believe, she stayed before being killed by Gurpreet on October 18. The decomposed body of Berger was recovered from near a school in Tilak Nagar on October 20," a police officer said.
He said Singh's chats with other foreign women have been retrieved from his two mobile phones, but he has deleted his chats with Berger. He has visited foreign countries, including Switzerland, multiple times, the police said.
"There are chats recovered from his mobile phone where he has talked with several women about gemstones and astrology. It is suspect he would lure them for friendship by offering them precious stones or using astrology tricks," the officer said.
The police said they have recovered Berger's iPhone too, but have not been able to unlock it. They are taking the help of cyber experts.
Singh's family owns multiple properties in various parts of Delhi but the trail of huge cash recovered from his house is yet to be investigated.
The police has managed to reach out to the family of Berger in Zurich, via the Embassy of Switzerland. But they said they cannot come to India. Her body has been kept at a mortuary in a west Delhi hospital.
The police wanted the family to come to India for identification, so that the process of postmortem examination could be started. But now the police wait for an NOC (no-objection certificate) from the Swiss Embassy.
Since the identification of the body is a crucial part in investigation, the police plan to take the help of DNA and biometric process.
From the hotel where Berger stayed, the police have recovered a trolley bag carrying articles which are believed to be belonging to her.
The DNA match of the dead body could be done with the recovered articles, an official said.
Berger used to work with a law firm in Switzerland.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
