Rajender Saxena, who allegedly committed suicide on Saturday, had factory in Bawana industrial area, which was in his wife’s name. He had started this unit some two years ago and was involved in the business of snacks.
According to police, Rajender has reportedly incurred heavy losses. He had suffered a loss of Rs42 lakh and was unable to repay it. It was weighing heavily upon his mind. It appears that he took the extreme decision to end his life and that of his wife and two minor sons as lenders were breathing down his neck.
The incident was reported on the early hours of Saturday when one of the neighbours noticed flames in Rajender’s house. Alarmed over the consequences, he called up the Police Control Room (PCR) “A PCR call was received around 6.45 am. Police reached the spot and dead deceased were taken to Deen Dayal Hospital for post-mortem. We are investigating the matter,” said V Renganathan, the Additional Commissioner of Police, West district. The cause of deaths and the circumstances that led to fire in the Saxena household is being investigated, he added.
Dileep Yadav, a neighbour said, “The top floor of the three-storyed house was on fire as heavy smoke could be seen billowing out of the window. The two rooms in which Saxena and his family resided was engulfed in fire. We have also informed the fire brigade and a fire engine arrived around 7.15 am. Meanwhile, I had managed to break the lock of the main entrance and reached the second floor where the family lived. The main entry was locked from inside and the fire had spread all over the place”, Yadav said. The bodies were later recovered by the firemen who controlled fire and broke the gate.
Rajeev Chawla, a friend of Rajender Saxena said that he had purchased a flat in Sagarpur area with his help some six months ago. I spoke to him over phone and he asked me to come his house and take the related papers.
Saxena family was last seen alive on the terrace of their house around 11 pm on Friday. Rajender’s brother-in-law Prem Prakash said that Rajender had filed a contempt case for Rs15 lakh against one Buta Ram, his wife Usha Rani and their son Sukhdev. Rajender had sold the ground floor of his house to Buta Ram and a case was pending in the court. I suspect that Buta family is behind the crime, he alleged.
The police officers said that prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide. They will question Buta Ram and his family and action will be initiated if something amiss comes out during the investigation. We are awaiting the post-mortem report as that will clear the air about the cause of death, a senior police officer of West district said.