65-year-old dead, wife hurt after being attacked by son

The 65-year-old man has died while his wife is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The police has detained the son of the couple for allegedly attacking them with a knife

A 65-year-old businessman died while his 60-year-old wife is battling for her life at a private hospital after their son attacked them with a hammer, a screwdriver and a knife in their sleep early Friday, police said, adding he has been arrested and booked for murder.

The incident took place in Hari Nagar in Delhi. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Swarnjeet Singh, the victim, ran a tent house business in west Delhi and lived in Fateh Nagar near Hari Nagar. His wife, Ajinder Kaur, is a homemaker. Jasdeep Singh (34), their son, works with stocks and shares. Police said he attacked his parents because they were not giving him ₹7 lakh; he had recently lost that amount in the share market.

The investigating team is also probing the role of Jasdeep’s wife (whose name they withheld) in the attack and murder, deputy commissioner of police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal said.

Police said that around 6am on Friday, a neighbour informed the police control room that the couple had been attacked and was lying unconscious on the ground floor of their house. They added the neighbour told them Jasdeep had allegedly discovered the injured couple and raised an alarm. A police team reached the crime scene and rushed them to a nearby government hospital. Swarnjeet was declared brought dead. Ajinder was alive but her condition was serious, so she was shifted to a private hospital in central Delhi.

A police officer associated with the case said that the inspection of the crime scene suggested that the couple was attacked in their sleep by someone known to them. Although the room was in disarray, there were no signs of forced entry, and so police suspected that the crime scene had been staged.

“We questioned the son and daughter-in-law. There were some discrepancies in Jasdeep’s statement. We asked the neighbours and relatives about the relationship between the couple and their son. Most of them said the three often quarrelled over money. We interrogated Jasdeep and confronted him with certain evidence after which he confessed to attacking his parents,” the officer said.

“Jasdeep revealed that he attacked his parents with the hammer, screwdriver and kitchen knife around 2am on Friday. His parents’ refusal to give him ₹7 lakh was the motive behind the attack and murder,” added DCP Bansal.

Police suspect Jasdeep may have sedated his parents by mixing sleeping pills in their dinner. However, their suspicions will be confirmed only after the autopsy report is out, the officer said.