A couple and their five-year-old daughter were found dead at their residence in South-East Delhi’s Okhla on Friday morning. For now, the police have ruled out any foul play and said that the man murdered the other two before consuming poison himself. The deceased, Mahesh (50), his wife Ranjana alias Lakshmi (35) and their daughter Lado, lived in a rented accommodation on the third floor of a house in Okhla’s Sanjay Colony.
According to the police, frequent quarrels between Mahesh and Ranjana, his second wife, could have led to the double murder-cum-suicide.
“We are verifying these details. Initial investigations have suggested that there were frequent fights between the couple, but at this stage we cannot say if that was the motive behind the murder. A probe is on,” said Mr. Ranjan.
It was around noon that one of Mahesh’s friends, who had come to meet him, found the door bolted from inside. Since his knocks went unanswered, he called the neighbours who then broke open the doors to find the trio unconscious.
They were later declared dead at a hospital.
“We suspect that the man hit the wife with a wooden plank and then strangulated the girl before consuming poison himself,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police-I (South East) Rajiv Ranjan.
Asked if Ranjana, too, was poisoned, Mr. Ranjan said that the police was waiting for the post-mortem and viscera report. An initial report is awaited.
Mahesh worked as a daily wage labourer, mostly in factories, said Mr. Ranjan. Neighbours, however, said that he worked as a cook.
The family was last seen alive around 9.30 p.m. on Thursday, neighbours told the police. “We suspect that the incident happened either late on Thursday night or early on Friday,” said Mr. Ranjan.
Mahesh’s first wife, Kiran, had died in the same house a few years ago, said neighbours, who added that he and Ranjana had been married for seven years.
