Four of family, guard brutally murdered in East Delhi

It seemed to be a regular Saturday morning for Shahdara-based Jindal family, until they realised, to their shock, that four of their family members had been brutally murdered in the front portion of their ancestral house. Not only that, a security guard, who had been guarding the sprawling property for the last two decades, was also found dead, with his throat slit open.

Prima facie, the police suspected property dispute to be the reason behind the tragic incident, though family members of the victims have claimed that it was the job of the outsiders.

The deceased were identifed as Urmila Jindal, 82, and her daughters Sangeeta Gupta, 58, Nupur Jindal, 48, and Anjali Jindal, 38. While two of the daughters were unmarried, one of them specially abled, another was a widow and lived with her mother, neighbours and locals said. The security guard was identified as Rakesh Kumar, 42.

The murders came to light around 6.30 am, when a flower vendor, who used to deliver flowers at the house every day, did not see Urmila or the security guard, who used to collect flowers from him daily. Their absence made the vendor suspicious and he decided to open the main gate and step inside.

While he was trying to go up to the first floor of the building, where Urmila lived with her daughters, the vendor stumbled upon Kumar's blood-drenched body. Terrified, he raised an alarm and Rakesh Jindal, a relative of the deceased, who was out on a morning walk, rushed to the spot. The police were then called and the family members went upstairs to check on Urmila and her daughters.

"The room seemed to be painted in blood and the floors were slippery. A body was lying on the double bed, one was on the sofa, and two were on the floor. Blood was still oozing from the deep cuts and stab wounds. A towel and a pillow, which might have been used to smother the victims, were also lying next to the bodies," said Shakun, wife of Urmila's nephew.

Shakun further said an almirah and a safe had been cut open. "It is a clear case of robbery gone wrong. The act must have been executed by a group of men. All five had their throats slit. It looks like the accused were professional killers," the woman said.

DCP, Shahadra, Nupur Prasad, however, said the entry of the accused into the house seemed friendly. A crime and forensics team has collected evidence from the spot. Prasad further said the police were looking at a family property dispute, which might have led to the murders.

"We are probing the case from all possible angles. Family members and friends are being questioned. The bodies have been sent for post mortem and a case of murder has been registered," Prasad said. The house did not have CCTV cameras installed but the police are checking footage from cameras installed nearby.

Urmila had a fourth daughter, who is married and lives with her husband and children at their south Delhi residence.