The Hindu : Couple, two children brutally murdered

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 13, 2002

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Couple, two children brutally murdered

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI APRIL 12. A couple and their two minor children were found brutally murdered under highly mysterious circumstances in their house at Mongolpuri in North-West Delhi yesterday.

The bodies of Lal Babu Singh (35), his wife Manju (32), and two sons -- Ajay (15) and Akash (8) -- were spotted by Singh's long time friend and business partner, Vinod, around 6-30 a.m. ''He had come as usual to go to work along with Lal Babu. There was no response to his knocks and when he pushed the door, he found they were not locked,'' said Santosh Tiwari, neighbour of Lal Babu.

The body of Lal Babu, who had opened a security agency in partnership with Vinod on March 21, was lying near the door. It seemed he had been hit with some blunt object on the head and had bled profusely. There was also several stab marks on his stomach, which, however, were not very deep.

Manju's body was found near the refrigerator kept in the same room. She too was hit badly on the head. There were injury marks on her hands too. The bodies of Ajay and Akash were found on the floor in another room. While Ajay had apparently been stabbed, it seemed Akash was strangulated.

Police believe the assailants, who could be more than two in number, attacked Lal Babu as soon as he answered the door. Manju probably tried to rescue her husband and also resisted the assailants due to which she sustained serious injuries on her hands. They said Ajay and Akash might have been killed in sleep.

The time when the assailants committed the crime was not exactly clear. However, it might have taken place around midnight. ''Around 11-30 p.m., my mother heard some noises coming from Lal Babu's house. She went outside and after trying to figure out what the noise was all about, she retired to bed,'' Santosh said. He claimed that the couple often fought between themselves and this might have been the reason why his mother did not interfere.

Police said the area residents normally remain awake till late in the night and Manju had gone to her parents, who live some houses away, and returned around 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, Lal Babu's father-in-law, Ranjit Singh, claimed that the incident was a result of Lal Babu's close friendship with a woman residing in R Block. ''Eighteen days ago this woman had called Lal Babu to a place in Rohini. There Lal Babu was beaten up by about five persons and his scooter was also damaged,'' he claimed. Police, however, were yet to verify the claims.

Even earlier the woman's relationship with Lal Babu had forced Ranjit Singh to take the case to Crime Against Women (CAW) cell. ''My daughter stayed with me for one year and after a compromise was worked out, my daughter started living with her husband again,'' he said. But this had happened about four years ago and since the couple had been apparently living in peace. However, the woman concerned kept threatening members of both the families, he added.

Police said the manner of killing -- with all the family members, barring Lal's youngest son, being hit heavily on the head and then stabbed -- indicate that the assailants wanted revenge.

Meanwhile, police are questioning Vinod, Lal Babu's younger brother Shyam, who lives on the second floor, and some other persons in this connection.

A case of murder has been registered at Mongolpuri and further investigations are on.

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