The Delhi Police have arrested a domestic help on Thursday for allegedly killing his employer and her son at their home in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area after the woman allegedly scolded him, police said.
The accused, identified as 24-year-old Mukesh, is a native of Bihar’s Hajipur and was nabbed by police from a train at Uttar Pradesh’s Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Railway Station when he was on a run allegedly after committingthe crime.
Mukesh, who is currently residing in nearby Amar colony, has reportedly confessed to the killings. He told investigators that a recent scolding by her employer, Ruchika triggered the violent act. As per police, the incident incident came to light when a PCR call was received at 9.43 pm on Wednesday from Kuldeep Sewani, a resident of Lajpat Nagar-I. He informed police that his wife Ruchika (42) and son were not answering his calls and that there were bloodstains on the staircase of their house.
“A PCR van and an investigation team rushed to the spot where Kuldeep reported that the main gate of the house was locked from outside. Bloodstains were seen on the staircase leading to the house.
“Police forcibly opened the door and found the bodies of the woman and her son inside,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari.
The body of Ruchika was found with the throat slit in the bedroom, while the body of her 14-year-old son was recovered from the bathroom. Both of them were killed with a sharp weapon, he said.
According to police, Mukesh was working with the family for the past 3-4 years. Though he was employed as a domestic help, he also assisted Kuldeep and Ruchika at their garment shop in the Lajpat Nagar market and worked as their driver.
“Kuldeep and Ruchika jointly ran the business and their son was a class 10 student,” said DCP Tiwari.
Another police officer privy to the investigation said, “Prima facie the incident took place between 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm on Wednesday. The accused was scolded by the woman during the day, which appears to have triggered the act of revenge. It seems that he first slit the throat of the woman and then killed the boy.” After the information about the double murder was received, multiple teams were formed and the photo of the accused was shared with police and railway police of other States, the officer said.
He said that after killing the two, Mukesh locked the house from outside and fled with his belongings. He was traced with the help of technical surveillance and arrested from a train at Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction by Uttar Pradesh railway police while he was heading towards Bihar.
“The accused will be brought to Delhi for questioning and formal arrest. We are also checking CCTV footage from nearby locations to verify whether the accused also stole any valuables from the house before fleeing,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood residents said that they did not get to know about the incident until police came.
“They both run a garment shop at Lajpat Nagar market, therefore, I have not interacted with them much. Today we did not have any hint about the incident until her husband came at around 9:30 pm and asked about her whereabouts.” Said a lady living opposite to victim’s house.
Sunil Varma, a local resident, said, “I live across the park and came when I heard that there had been a murder. I later got to know that the family ran a kurta shop and had been living here for the past 10 to 15 years. The shop was quite old. I did not know them personally.”
A case has been registered in the matter and further investigation is underway.
Jangpura MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah visited the area and said he spoke to senior police officers soon after the incident.
“When I got a call about the incident, I spoke to the DCP and other senior police officers. The SHO, ACP, and DCP have been working since last night and the accused was apprehended overnight. Everything should be investigated thoroughly,” he said.
Police cordoned off the area as curious residents and onlookers gathered near the Sewanis’ residence.
