Ghaziabad duo’s killers were known to victims

The preliminary probe into the horrific killing of the elderly mother-son duo in Raj Nagar area of Ghaziabad has suggested that the attackers were known to the victims. Peeyush Khandelwal reports.

The preliminary probe into the horrific killing of the elderly mother-son duo in Raj Nagar area of Ghaziabad has suggested that the attackers were known to the victims.

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A senior police officer involved in the investigation said the attackers had a friendly entry as there was no sign of resistance at the entrance of the house.

Girija, 85, and her 65-year-old son were found dead with their throats slashed inside their house in Ghaziabad on Friday morning.

The crime was reported when neighbours saw the bodies lying in a pool of blood. The neighbours were called by a cooking gas cylinder delivery man who had come to the victims’ house but got no response from inside.

A senior police officer said that Girija’s walking stick was found intact near the main door of the house which meant that she opened the door and allowed the assailants to enter.

The mother-son duo was preparing food when the bell rang. Girija’s son S Kumar was working in the kitchen as the police found pieces of onions on the kitchen slab.

Police found injury marks on Girija’s finger. “She might have got injured in a bid to resist the attackers,” the officer said. However, there seem to have been no attempts at resistance from her son.

The assailants slashed the duo’s throats and later dragged Girija’s body to the other room. The son’s body was found in the kitchen.

The assailants had even washed their blood-stained hands in the washbasin and left the knife before leaving the scene of crime.

The police have ruled out robbery as a motive behind the murder. Sources said Girija’s husband, who died two years ago, had made a will in her name and the file of the name transfer was under process.

Forensic experts could find only two footmarks of a pair of slippers. The police suspect that the number of assailants could not be more than two.

Local shopkeepers told Hindustan Times that Kumar was last seen on Thursday evening.

“He was known for his fondness for new currency notes of R5 and R10 and used to make payments with such notes,” Pankaj, a flour mill owner, said.