The East of Kailash residence, where an elderly couple was found murdered on Friday, was not the original target of the five accused in the robbery-cum-murder case, said the police.
Announcing the arrest of the five men who allegedly committed the murder, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) M.S. Bawa said that the gang had instead come to burgle the adjacent house, but the presence of a guard inside deterred them and made them change the plans.
“On November 12, the accused first carried a reconnaissance of the area and found one house deserted. According to their plan, they reached the targeted place in an auto-rickshaw they had hired from Ghaziabad around 10-30 p.m. Once they entered the open area, they saw a guard in the main living area. Thereafter, they scaled over the roof of the adjacent house from the actual targeted house,” he said.
Mr. Randhawa further added that to gain entry, the accused ransacked the store room by breaking open the door of the roof top and made their way to the ground floor where the couple – Manohar Lal Madan (86) and his wife Vimla Madan (80) – were sleeping.
“While they were searching for the valuable articles, the duo woke up and tried to raise an alarm. To prevent them from doing so, the accused overpowered them, tied their hands, locked and put a piece of cloth in their mouth. After immobilising the old couple, they ransacked the house, broke open the cupboard on the ground floor and took the jewellery and cash kept there. Thereafter, they went to the first floor and entered the room where the victims’ son Sanjay was sleeping,” he said.
It is alleged that when Sanjay tried to raise an alarm, the accused came down to the ground floor and escaped from the front gate with the looted amount.
Meanwhile, the post-mortem report has established smothering as the cause of death. Recovered items from the accused included jewellery, cash, a screw driver and an iron rod.
