A 42-year-old widower allegedly strangled his two sons to death before calling the police in north-west Delhi’s Mahindra Park on Wednesday morning. The man was subsequently booked for murder and arrested.
The accused has been identified as Mukesh Antil, a resident of Sanjay Nagar. He lived with his two sons, Ayush and Aryan, aged 16 and 10 years respectively.
Impending demolition
Locals said the man had been “frustrated and depressed” as the top floor of his four-storey house was to be demolished by the civic agencies in a few days.
The demolition was authorised after a complaint was filed by a neighbour and a distant relative, Ashok Chowdhary, who had dragged him to court over the construction of the top floor of the house that was allegedly causing damages to the complainant’s house.
Mukesh had lost his wife, Jyoti, a year-and-a-half ago. After her death, he had quit his job with a private firm to take care of his sons. The family was surviving on the rent money they obtained from the top two floors of the house.
Around 5.30 am on Wednesday, the neighbours came to know of the double murder when a police team arrived in their locality.
Harinder Singh, who lives in the same building, was among the first to learn of the murders. “Police told me about the murders. I saw Mukesh standing emotionless outside his flat, with policemen all around him. I asked him why he killed his children, but he did not respond,” said Mr. Singh.
‘Suicide attempt
Singh also claimed that Mukesh had tried to slit his wrist. “There were cuts on his wrist,” he claimed. Senior police officers, while conceding that they recovered a knife from the crime spot, denied Mukesh was injured.
“Ashok had been harassing Mukesh unnecessarily. He had regularly been demanding anywhere between Rs. 2 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh to prevent the demolition of his top floor,” alleged Raj Rani, a neighbour.
Ashok’s daughter, Khushboo, however, refuted the allegations and said her father was moving as per the law. “Ever since the construction of the neighbouring building began around three years ago, there was seepage and other damage to our house. So, my father approached the court,” claimed Khushboo.
Çounter allegations
She accused the neighbours of boycotting her family and hurling verbal abuses ever since the murders came to light.
“They are blaming us for the deaths and abusing me. But the allegations of bribery are totally false. We sought help from the courts after Mukesh did not pay heed to our requests during construction,” she said.
The police, meanwhile, said it was too early to connect the murders with the constructions.
“Mukesh was depressed as he was worried about the future of his sons. What exactly led him to kill his sons is being probed,” said a senior officer.
Neighbours said that the man had tried to kill himself after the murders, pointing to marks on his wrist
