Man arrested for killing wife, daughter-in-law in Rohini

Accused says the women were in extramarital relationships with other men

Satish Chaudhary in custody.

A 64-year-old retired teacher allegedly stabbed his wife and daughter-in-law to death at their residence in Rohini on Friday early morning, the police said.

The accused, Satish Chaudhary, has been arrested, they said. The deceased have been identified as Sneh Lata Chaudhary (62), a retired DDA official, and her daughter-in-law Pragya (35), an air hostess with a private airline. Pragya’s husband Gaurav was in Singapore, where he works as an engineer, at the time of the incident.

The police were informed by Sneh’s younger son Saurabh who works in Bengaluru but was in Delhi on Friday. Pragya and Mr. Gaurav’s two children — one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter — were present at home at the time of the incident. The accused said he killed the women because he believed that the two were in extramarital relationships with other men and it harmed his “image”. The neighbours said around 5 a.m., they heard the children crying and one of the women shouting for help.

‘Could not meditate’

An officer said at 5 a.m., Satish woke up and tried to “meditate but could not do so as he was disturbed because of the two women”. “He said he wanted to teach them [the women] a lesson. He locked the door of the drawing room where Saurabh was sleeping. He then took a kitchen knife and went to the bedroom where his wife, Pragya and the two children were sleeping,” the officer said.

The flat in Rohini Sector 4 where the family lived.

 

The accused first stabbed his wife a few times after which she ran out of the room. Meanwhile, Pragya and the children woke up and he stabbed Pragya multiple times. Saurabh heard the commotion and knocked on the door. “Sneh managed to open the door after which he tried to stop his father. He also got injured but overpowered his father and locked him in a room,” the officer said, adding that police were then informed. Saurabh said for the last couple of years, there were problems at home as his father suspected that his mother and sister-in-law had relationships outside of their marriages.

“Due to the constant bickering, the women decided to shift to Gurugram along with the children as it was closer to Pragya’s workplace. They were to shift on Friday,” the officer said. Saurabh had come to the city on Thursday to help the women with the shifting, he said. During interrogation, Satish said he was “disturbed” because he thought that once they shifted, the “women will be able to do anything which will impact his pride and honour,” the officer said.

The police said the accusations appear to be the accused’s imagination and the women were not in any extramarital relationship.