The decapitated body of a Delhi University lecturer was found on the railway track at Sarai Rohilla, while his mother was found hanging from a ceiling fan at their flat in Pitampura, the police said on Sunday.
Allen Stanley, 27, who hailed from Kottayam in Kerala, was found dead on Saturday. Earlier that day, his mother Lissy, 55, was found hanging at their Ashiana Apartment flat, her mouth stuffed with cloth.
According to the police, Stanley did his graduation from St. Stephen’s College and master’s from Hyderabad Central University. He was pursuing his Ph.D from IIT-Delhi and had joined St. Stephen’s College over a year ago as an ad hoc Philosophy teacher.
“We suspect Stanley committed suicide after killing his mother. However, no suicide note was recovered from Stanley's body, but a note written in Malayalam was found in the flat. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. We are probing the case from all angles,” said a senior police officer.
Murder case registered
Police registered a murder case at the Rani Bagh police station after they found his mother dead in the flat.
Stanley had been living in Delhi for five years and his mother came to stay with him seven months ago. They were depressed because of an abetment-to-suicide case pending against them in Kerala, and both were on anticipatory bail.
“For the past six months, Stanley and his mother were facing legal battles over a property dispute and an investigation regarding the suicide of Stanley’s step-father,” said a close friend who wished not to be named.
“After Stanley’s father passed away two years ago, his mother married again. Some seven months ago, his step-father committed suicide at his Kottayam house. Aunty was at her mother’s place in Thodupuzha village in Idukki district while Stanley was in Delhi,” he said. “The relatives of the step-father tried to cover up the death. But later, his mother got to know that it was a suicide and that her husband had left the property in their name. Upon learning this, the relatives filed a complaint against the mother-son duo,” he added.
Suicide prevention helpline: Sanjivini: Society for Mental Health, Telephone: 011-4076 9002, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. -7.30 p.m.
