Delhi: Man kills his father, mother, sister as they slept; arrested

Arjun Tanwar, moved from room to room, killing each of his family members with a knife at around 5am

A 20-year-old man was arrested for allegedly murdering his parents and sister while they slept at their home in south Delhi’s Neb Sarai on Wednesday morning over domestic differences and a property dispute, police said.

Delhi Police at the crime scene. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

In a series of chilling murders, police said the accused, Arjun Tanwar, moved from room to room, killing each of his family members with a knife at around 5am.

He then staged a scene, pretending to have gone for a morning walk and returned to discover the bodies. Police said he called them at 6.53am, claiming his family had been killed.

The victims — Rajesh Tanwar, 51, a retired Army Naik Subedar, his wife Komal Tanwar, 46, and their daughter Kavita Tanwar, 23—were found with their throats slit in their bed. Relatives said the couple had planned to celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary on the day of the crime.

Kavita, a karate black belt preparing for the UPSC exams, was found on the ground floor, while her parents were upstairs.

Arjun is a second-year student at Delhi University’s Moti Lal Nehru College and is studying BA in Political Science. Police said he also won a silver medal in boxing in a Delhi Olympics state-level championship.

Police said Arjun initially tried to mislead investigators by claiming he had gone for a morning walk and returned to find his family dead. He called the police at 6.53am, reporting the murders.

Arjun’s behaviour and statements during questioning raised red flags.

“He initially claimed to have gone for a walk, which he did. But his statements kept changing. Also, there was no third-party involvement as per CCTV,” said DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan.

Joint commissioner of police Sanjay Kumar Jain said: “We first questioned the son since he was the caller. He also told us that he had locked the house. There was no forced entry... We started questioning him thoroughly and simultaneously checked CCTV footage from nearby areas. There was no movement towards the house. Slowly, as the questioning continued, we found contradictions in his statements. He eventually broke down and confessed.”

According to police, Arjun admitted he chose his parents’ wedding anniversary to avoid suspicion and used an army knife to carry out the murders.

Investigators said Arjun harboured resentment toward his father, whom he accused of favouritism and frequent scolding. Joint CP Jain said that the 20-year-old told them that he “felt like a stepchild”.

The immediate trigger, police believe, was his discovery that his father was transferring the family property to his sister, Kavita.

Police said the crime was premeditated.

Arjun first attacked Kavita while she slept, then moved upstairs to kill his father while he slept and mother. His mother, who was in the bathroom at the time, was attacked as she stepped out.

Investigators said a major clue was the blood stains on the interlock’s keys.

An investigator told HT, “What helped us nail Arjun was that the FSL team found blood traces on the keys of the interlock. This raised suspicion since all bodies were found on the bed and interlock could only be locked/unlocked/accessed by the family members and the accused because only they had the keys. We understood that the murderer also used the interlock using keys...”

The family lived in a two-storey house in Neb Sarai.

Rajesh, who retired as a Naik Subedar in 2010, had also served briefly as an NSG commando and was working as a personal security officer for a businessman in Sainik Farms.

Neighbours described the family as kind and social, expressing disbelief at the crime.

Saurabh Singh, a neighbour, said, “Rajesh was a helpful man, and the family was very social. We were woken up by Arjun banging on doors, screaming that his family had been murdered.”

Another neighbour, Pramila Devi, added, “The family had been living here for over 18 years. They were sweet people, and there were no known disputes. It’s hard to believe Arjun could do this.”

Another neighbour Uday Chaudhary said he was shocked to see Arjun running around for help. He said when he went inside the house, he couldn’t bear to look at the bodies. “The mother’s neck was covered in blood and their poor daughter also had a huge slit on her neck… it was horrific,” he said.

Relatives also expressed shock.

Rakesh Chauhan, Rajesh’s brother, said he initially suspected someone else.

“There was an issue with a ₹10 lakh loan Rajesh had given to a friend. I thought the murders might be related to that. Arjun always respected his parents, and Rajesh spent generously on his education and wanted him to become an IAS officer or a professional boxer,” he said.

Sube Singh, Rakesh’s cousin, said the family was always ready to help people around them.

“Arjun was preparing for a national-level boxing championship next week. Rajesh kept us updated and was very proud of him. I don’t understand what went wrong,” said Sube Singh, a cousin.

Relatives described the Tanwars as a close-knit family.

Komal was devoted to her children, and Kavita, who had recently earned her karate black belt, was determined to clear the UPSC exams. “The parents were proud of their kids’ potential,” said Bhupinder Singh, Rajesh’s uncle.

“We didn’t have an inkling something like this could happen. When I arrived there, I couldn’t even bear to see the bodies,” he said.