Delhi man slits throats of wife, 3 kids; arrested

| | NEW DELHI
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Delhi man slits throats of wife, 3 kids; arrested

Sunday, 23 June 2019 | Staff Reporter | NEW DELHI

Delhi man slits throats of wife,  3 kids; arrested

A 42-year-old private tutor allegedly killed his wife Archana and their two-month-old daughter, five-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter by slitting their throats in the early hours of Saturday in South Delhi’s Mehrauli at their residence, police said.

The accused Upendra Shukla, who hails from a village in Bihar’s Champaran and used to give private tuition classes of chemistry, has been arrested. 

Shukla gave his wife, five- year-old son Raunak and two minor daughters, Ranya (7) and two-month-old daughter, a sedative and later killed them while they were sleeping.

Some wrappers of medicines were also recovered from the house.

Two handwritten notes in Hindi and English in which Shukla confessed to killing his wife and children were recovered from the room. He, however, did not give any reason for it, said the officer, adding that Shukla is suspected to be suffering from depression.

“At the time of the killings, the accused’s mother-in-law was at their house in Mehrauli which has two rooms. When Shukla did not open the door of his room on Saturday morning, she informed the neighbours who broke it open and found him lying unconscious next to the bodies. They then called up the police,” said the senior police official.

“A police control room (PCR) was received regarding the incident at around 7 AM. Acting on the call, an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) rushed to the spot. On spot, Upendra had locked the door from inside where other victims were also lying in pool of blood. Police team broke the gate and found Upendra sitting next to the victims. They were all rushed to nearby hospital where Upendra’s wife and three children were declared brought dead by the doctors,” said the senior police official.

“Initial investigation, it was revealed that Shukla’s wife Archana was a diabetes patient and he was not a financially sound person. A quarrel might have erupted between the couple recently on this issue due to which he became depressed and killed them. Police teams are investigating the exact cause of his depression, which he is claiming,” said police official privy to investigation.

“Shukla was found inside his room with a cut on his hand and the investigation will reveal that whether he tried to commit suicide after killing them or he got injured during the incident,” he said. 

According to sources, Shukla had tried to kill his wife and three children on Thursday night also but could not execute his plan. “On the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, he gave them sedatory substance and later killed them after slitting their throats. Some wrappers of medicines were also recovered from the house,” said the sources.

“Preliminary investigation suggests that the killings took place between 1 and 1.30 AM. The bodies have been sent to the AIIMS for the post-mortem which will be conducted on Sunday after the family of the deceased will come here. The knife used in the incident has been seized and further investigation is underway,” said the senior police official. 

According to neighbours, the mother-in-law of Upendra Shukla saw him through the window of the room lying on the floor fainted along with others.

“Upendra had bought this house six years ago and used to give private coaching to school students in Vasant Kunj area. He was earning quite good. He told me that he takes four classes daily and gets Rs 1000 to Rs 1200 per class. I never saw any kind of depression on his face,” said Bharat Mahlawat, a neighbour.

Meanwhile, Deepak Kumar, who runs a general store in the building, said that he had spoken to Upendra a day before the incident and there was no such expression which would show him in depression.  

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