Delhi murder: Man kills wife, child suspecting affair; spares other kid

The man, who was arrested soon after, spared his other son, aged four, who was sleeping in the same room at the time of the murders in the early hours of Saturday

A 24-year-old factory worker allegedly stabbed his wife and 18-month-old son to death in northwest Delhi’s Shakurpur on suspicion of her being in a relationship with another man before surrendering himself to the police, officials said on Saturday.

The accused, Brijesh, also photographed the bodies with his mobile phone, police said. (FILE)

The man, who was arrested soon after, spared his other son, aged four, who was sleeping in the same room at the time of the murders in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

The accused, Brijesh (police identified him by a single name), also photographed the bodies with his mobile phone, police added. He was allegedly in a drunken state during the killings, police officers said.

“We have arrested Brijesh for the murder. He has told us that he suspected his 25-year-old wife of being in a relationship with another man,” said Jitendra Meena, deputy commissioner of police (north-west).

An FIR was registered against Brijesh under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

Brijesh originally belonged to Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, the couple got married in 2016.

“He packed bulb holders in a factory and lived with the three other members of the family at a rented house,” said another police officer, requesting anonymity.

According to the police, the couple often quarrelled over the alleged affair. “Brijesh suspected his wife of being in a relationship with another man in the neighbourhood. The woman, however, used to deny it,” said the officer.

On Friday night, the couple got involved in a fight over the issue. “Brijesh was drunk and he escalated the quarrel,” the officer said. “Between 1 am and 2 am, Brijesh allegedly slit his wife’s throat with a kitchen knife. Then, he stabbed his younger son in his sleep, but spared his older son.”

Officers investigating the case said that during interrogation, Brijesh said that he suspected the younger son was born out of is wife’s alleged extramarital relationship. “He would allegedly often taunt his wife about the father of the younger baby. He said that he believed the older son to be his own, because of which he spared him,” an investigator said on condition of anonymity.

“He then clicked a few photos of the bodies with his mobile phone,” the officer added.

At around 3am, Brijesh called the police and confessed to the crime, the officer said, following which he was arrested and the alleged murder weapon ,seized.