Four of a family are wiped out in Kandivli home

MUMBAI: A contractor, his wife, and their two young children were murdered in their Kandivli home on Monday. Police suspect three of the contractor's  workers, who were also related to him. The provocation may have been a dispute over pending wages.

Karan Hiralal Nirmal (34), his wife Neetu (32), their five-year-old son and three-year-old-daughter were allegedly murdered by three men identified as Anuj Kanojia, Kamal and Bauwa. Kanojia has been arrested.

When the police reached the Nirmal residence they found the husband and wife lying in a pool of blood. They had been strangled to death and their heads smashed with a grinding stone. Their son Ravi was found hanging from a ceiling fan and daughter Asmita had been drowned in a water drum.

According to the police, Nirmal and the three accused had come to Mumbai together 15 years ago.

Nirmal secured contracts from readymade garment units for ironing their clothes and his three relatives worked as his employees.

Nirmal's colleague Prem Shukla said, "Nirmal and the workers ironed up to 200 clothes daily. Nirmal earned a decent Rs20,000 a month."

Additional commissioner of police (north zone) Tukaram Chavan said one of the absconding accused Kamal had stopped working for Nirmal 18 months back. The other one Bauwa also quit six months back.

"Even though the accused were Nirmal's relatives from Mohanganj in Lucknow, they felt that they were owed money and had even threatened to wipe out Nirmal's family if he did not clear their dues as per their calculation," the police officer said.