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Delhi couple, daughter-in-law found murdered at residence

FROM THE FAMILY ALBUM: (Left to right) Vinod Verma, his adopted son Nitin, daughter-in-law Pooja and wife Pushpa. Police are suspecting involvement of Nitin in the brutal murder of the other three in this picture.

NEW DELHI: A middle-aged couple and their young daughter-in-law were found brutally murdered at their residence in the Capital’s Palam area in the early hours of Saturday. The police arrested the couple’s adopted son late in the evening after he purportedly confessed to the crime.

According to the police, the triple murder tragedy came to light shortly after midnight on Friday night when a neighbour of 56-year-old Vinod Verma, who worked for the Hungarian Embassy here as a telephone operator, received a phone call from a relative asking him to check on Mr. Verma as no one was answering the phone at his residence. The relative wanted to inform Mr. Verma that his 26-year-old son Nitin had got injured in an accident at Dhaula Kuan.

When the neighbour, Ravinder, entered the Vermas’ residence, he found the three bodies lying in a pool of blood. Mr. Verma’s body was found on the ground floor while the body of his 50-year-old wife Pushpa was found on the staircase and that of his 26-year-old daughter-in-law Pooja on the first floor. Blood was splattered all over the floor and the staircase, indicating that the victims had offered tough resistance before they were killed. All the three bodies bore multiple stab injuries.

Nitin, who was admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital with minor injuries, purportedly told the police that he was on his way home when he met with an accident at Dhaula Kuan and called up his uncle seeking help as no one was picking up the phone at his residence.

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the murders had not been committed with robbery as motive as no valuables were missing from the house. The entry into the premises too seemed friendly, raising suspicion about the involvement of someone well known to the family. The police also noticed that the injuries on Nitin’s body did not appear to have been sustained in a road accident and were probably inflicted with some sharp weapon. His motorcycle was also found intact, giving the police ample reason to suspect his involvement in the gruesome murders.

According to the police, Nitin purportedly confessed to the crime during interrogation.

He was allegedly having an extra-marital affair as a result of which he used to have frequent quarrels with his wife. On Friday night another fight broke out between them and Nitin allegedly stabbed his wife Pooja with a knife. When his mother and father rushed upstairs on hearing the screams, he allegedly attacked them too with the knife.

The police said they had recovered the knife used by Nitin. According to the police, Mr. Verma earlier worked as a driver but after a paralytic attack he had been given the job of a telephone operator. Pooja, who was pregnant, was a school teacher.

The Vermas had adopted Nitin when he was barely a few days old. He worked for a private firm in Karol Bagh.

Enquiries by the police revealed that the three victims were last seen alive by their neighbours on Friday night around 8 p.m.

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