Staff Reporter n
In a gruesome incident, three members of a family were allegedly strangulated to death at their residence in Central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area on Sunday. The victims have been identified as Sanjay (50), his wife Jyoti (48), and their son Pawan (21). Preliminary investigations suggest involvement of persons known to the family as the entry inside the house of the deceased was found to be friendly, said police.
The incident came to the light on Sunday morning when the domestic help of the family entered their house and found Jyoti lying still on her bed, while Pawan was lying on the floor. The maid raised an alarm and she immediately informed one of the neighbours of the family. They in turn called up PCR around 10.30 am following which a police team rushed to the spot.
It is suspected that Sanjay was involved in a property dispute with someone known to the family. However, these details are yet to be verified, said police. Investigation is underway and police are questioning people close to the family, a police official said. Some neighbours told police that Sanjay had some
property disputes with his relatives as his father had made Jyoti the owner of his entire property infuriating other
family members.
The police team found Sanjay missing, which mistakenly pointed the needle of suspicion towards him. However, soon a crime team was sent to the spot to trace intricate evidence and a thorough inspection was conducted in the apartment, during which Sanjay’s body was found shoved inside a cupboard. The neighbours informed the family’s relatives and the bodies were sent for post-mortem.
“There is a possibility that they were murdered last evening and the information was received today morning.
The house was ransacked so we are taking this angle into consideration,” SK Gautam, Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range), said.
The bodies have been sent to Sabzi Mandi mortuary for post-mortem after which they will be handed over to the family members, the Joint CP added.
“Sanjay was strangled with a tippet as there was a telltale signs on his throat. His wife and son also were strangled in the same manner,” said a senior police officer present at the spot. “Pawan’s hands were tied up by the killers,” added police. According to police officials, the entire house was ransacked ostensibly by the assailants to mislead the police. The investigation so far has found that robbery was not the motive behind the triple murder.
Though the accused are yet to be identified, the police haven’t ruled out possibility of a property dispute as a motive behind the incident, a police official said, adding that preliminary investigation suggests the role of someone known to the family.
Sanjay was working with the Sales Tax department and was also running a real estate firm, while Pawan was studying in third year of Mechanical Engineering at Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology. Jyoti was a homemaker.