A 70-year-old woman and her daughter-in-law were murdered by unknown persons at their residence in north-east Delhi’s Subhash Park on Tuesday, the police said.
The bodies of the victims — Vimla Devi, 70, and her daughter-in-law Dolly Rai, 45 — were discovered by Dolly’s sons Sarthak, 23, and Shashank, 25, on their return from a three-day trip to Rishikesh. A senior police officer said a suspect, who is a relative of the victims, has been detained.
DCP (North-East) Sanjay Sain said a PCR call was received around 4.20 a.m. on Tuesday regarding a double murder in Welcome’s Subhash Park area. A police team was rushed to the spot, where it found the bodies of the two women.
A senior police officer said the bodies bore multiple stab wounds. “Preliminary inquiries have revealed that Vimla was smothered before being stabbed and Dolly was stabbed multiple times in the stomach,” the officer added.
The police said there were no signs of forced entry, hinting that the victims were familiar with the assailants. The family’s pet dog, a German shepherd, which would have likely raised an alarm on seeing intruders, was found locked in a room.
‘Gold, cash missing’
Pranita, 28, Shashank’s cousin, told The Hindu that valuables such as gold and cash were missing from the house. However, the police said the exact reason behind the killings was still being ascertained. A Forensic Science Laboratory team examined the house for clues.
Shashank told the police that he and his brother left the house on a trip to Rishikesh and Mussoorie on Saturday. When they came home, they rang the bell and knocked on the gates but nobody answered, after which they entered the house using a spare key. Upon entering, they found their grandmother’s blood-soaked body on the ground floor and their mother’s body on the first floor.
