Secretary of Belgian embassy murdered in New Delhi

September 24, 2006

Isabelle Dessoy, the Secretary of Federal Staff at New Delhi's Belgian embassy was found murdered in her Vasant Vihar home.

Initial reports indicate that the victim was stabbed 22 times, and her driver, Vijay Pal Chaudhry, is currently the prime suspect. According to police he has fled the scene. The woman was able to telephone her son after the incident, and tell him what had happened.

Police were apparently informed of the incident at 10:45pm local time, the victim was taken to Safdarjung Hospital where staff declared her dead.

The police assert that robbery was the likely motive, details of the victim's stolen car have been dispatched to surrounding areas and a search for the prime suspect is underway.

Deputy police commissioner R.S. Yadav informed AFP that the victim was 45 years old. Earlier reports had indicated that the suspect was in custody and the victim had been aged 35. A profile on a travel site, apparently belonging to the victim, gives her age as 47 as of June 2006.