A missed birthday call led to the discovery of semi-decomposed bodies of a couple in their 70s inside their ninth-floor flat in south Delhi on January 26, the police said on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as 78-year-old Virender Kumar Khaneja, who retired as a senior manager with a multinational consumer goods company, and his 72-year-old wife Sarla Khaneja.
Murder case filed
Though the cause of death is yet to be ascertained, the police have registered a murder case under Section 302 of IPC based on circumstantial evidence.
DCP (South-East) Chinmoy Biswal said they have informed Amit Khaneja, the couple’s elder son who lives in the United States, about the incident. Stating that the son is expected to reach Delhi in a couple of days, Mr. Biswal said the post-mortem will only be conducted after he son reaches the city.
Around 10.30 a.m. on January 26, the police were informed that a couple living in flat number 349 at Mount Kailash Apartments in East of Kailash had gone missing. The Gurugram-based caller claimed he was a distant relative. A team from Amar Colony police station was sent to the address.
“Mr. Khaneja did not receive the customary call from his parents on his birthday [January 24]. He called them but did not receive any response. He asked his relative to check on his parents,” a police officer said.
The police team found the front and back doors of the flat locked from inside. They used a neighbour’s apartment to access the balcony in the couple’s flat and broke open the back door.
The neighbours learnt about the couple’s death only after the police recovered their bodies. One of them even claimed that no foul had emanated from the flat. The neighbours told the police they had last seen the couple on January 19. Footage from a CCTV camera installed inside the society showed the couple entering the premises.
The police said the bodies were found in the same room but Sarla’s hands had been tied with a piece of cloth. The couple was registered with the Delhi Police’s Senior Citizen Cell. On January 17, a policeman had met the couple for some household work.
“We have not ruled out any possibility yet. The case is under investigation. An FSL team visited the flat and collected some samples,” said a senior police officer.
“There was no note left behind by the deceased in the flat. There were no signs of forced entry either,” said Mr. Biswal.
The police also said some mothballs were found near the bodies. “It is too early to arrive at any conclusion. We are talking to neighbours and also questioning the maid who came to work in the house daily,” Mr. Biswal added.
“Virender was a cheerful person. I met him during my evening walks. However, his wife had been stressed since their younger son Sumit died in 2017 after prolonged illness. After his death, they went to stay with their elder son in the US and returned after six months. Their elder son did not come for his brother’s funeral,” a neighbour said. The neighbour said the couple had a part-time domestic help who cooked for them and did other household chores.
