Main accused held for stabbing father-son duo in south Delhi

Delhi Police has arrested the main accused behind the double murder of an elderly man and his son, who were stabbed to death in the south Delhi area. 

The deceased were identified as Rakesh Sood (62) and his son Karan Sood (27), while his cousin Rahul suffered injuries and is undergoing treatment, police said.

According to the police, information regarding the incident was received around 9:20 pm on Friday from a private hospital in Saket, where three persons from Tara Apartments at Alaknanda under the CR Park police station in south Delhi were admitted by their relatives.

“Upon examination, Rakesh Sood and Karan Sood were declared brought dead by doctors, while Rahul was found injured,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, Aishwarya Singh, said. Soon after the incident, a police team rushed to the spot. During the investigation, the police found that the incident took place due to a long-standing financial dispute.

“The accused, Asad Siddiqui, a resident of Tara Apartments, attacked the victims with a sharp-edged object around 6 pm,” Singh said.

Crime and forensic teams inspected the scene and collected evidence, while CCTV footage from the area is being analysed as part of the probe, the police said.

“Based on the survivor’s statement, a case was registered, and the accused was arrested,” Singh said. The vehicle used by the accused to flee from the crime scene has been seized.

Investigators suspect that the altercation may have escalated following disagreements over monetary dealings between the accused and the victims.

Police said that the mobile phones of the accused and the victims will be examined to establish the last communication exchanged between them. Technical analysis, including call detail records and digital evidence, is expected to play a crucial role in reconstructing the chain of events leading up to the murders.

Police are questioning the accused to ascertain the exact sequence of events and the nature of the financial dispute that led to the fatal attack. For many in the neighbourhood, the double murder left a lingering sense of disbelief. The elderly man is survived by his wife and two daughters, both aged around 30.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, raised concerns over the law and order situation in the national capital.

Referring to the location, he said Tara Apartments in Alaknanda was considered a safe gated colony where several prominent figures, including former Union minister Sushma Swaraj, had resided, and added that such incidents reflect a worrying situation.

Can’t believe they are gone: Neighbours

New Delhi: Sixty-two-year-old Rakesh Sood was known for organising a ‘bhandara’ to feed the poor every Thursday, making sure that no one left hungry. On Saturday, his house in the upscale Tara Apartments at Alaknanda under the CR Park police station in south Delhi stood broken after he and his 27-year-old son Karan Sood were fatally stabbed on Friday, with family members and neighbours struggling to come to terms with the loss.

“They lost everything in one night, the father and the only son. The house looks so empty that it is hard to describe in words,” said a friend of Rakesh, requesting anonymity.

According to police, Rakesh and his son Karan were attacked with a sharp-edged object around 6 pm on Friday inside the apartment complex.

The accused, Asad Siddiqui, a resident of the same society, has been arrested.

Information about the incident was received at 9:20 pm on Friday from a private hospital in Saket, where three men were admitted by their relatives.

While Rakesh and Karan were declared brought dead, their relative, Rahul, sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment, police said.

Police suspect the attack was linked to a long-standing financial dispute.

For those who knew the family, the details of the crime have done little to soften the blow.

“Rakesh Ji was a very religious person. Every Thursday, he would organise a ‘bhandara’ (community meal) outside his house,” a neighbour said. “He would stand there himself and serve food to people. It is difficult to accept what has happened,” he said.

The residents of the society described Rakesh, who was in the real estate business, as someone always available at times of need.

“If anyone approached him for help, he never refused. Whether it was financial help or any other support, he would quietly step in. People trusted him,” a colleague said.

Karan, the neighbours said, had joined his father in the family business and worked closely with him.