Delhi: 40-year-old man kills wife, son at Geeta Colony home

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said the accused, Sachin Arora, was arrested hours later.

A 40-year-old grocery shop owner allegedly killed his wife and son at their residence in Shahdara’s Geeta Colony area on Saturday afternoon, with police saying he left messages on a family WhatsApp group reportedly claiming responsibility for the murders.

Police said the accused left messages on a family WhatsApp group reportedly claiming responsibility for the murders. (Picture for representation only)

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said the accused, Sachin Arora, was arrested hours later. “It appears that the two — Kanchan (36) and the 15-year-old son Dhruv — were smothered. The bodies have been sent for post mortem...,” the DCP said, adding that the accused allegedly confessed to murdering his family “after a routine fight” over financial issues.

The police said that at 3.18pm, Sachin sent a message on the family WhatsApp group “All family members happy n enjoy your day n life hood bye... this is my last lines to all of u (sic)”. At 3.48pm, he sent another message, “Ye sab maine aapne marge se kita dhimag karab ho gaya hai mera sab ko (sic)”, which loosely translates to “I have done this out of my own will, I am frustrated”.

Police said that preliminary investigation revealed that Sachin was facing a financial burden due to which there were domestic fights which is suspected to be the reason behind the murders. “He initially fled but was later arrested by police teams,” said Sathiyasundaram.

Arora’s neighbour Bansi Lal said the family had been living in the house for decades and that Arora’s parents lived in the ground floor of the same building.

Arora used to work as an accountant but lost his job 10 years ago, following which he opened a grocery store nearby.

“In the afternoon, Arora came downstairs and touched his parents’ feet and left. They thought he was leaving for the shop but a few minutes later, he sent those messages on the group, after which the mother went upstairs and saw his wife and son dead. They then called me and my brother,” said Lal.

Lal said that after the murder, Arora constantly called his family members, including a brother who lives in Gurugram, “saying he will take his own life”.

According to Lal, Sachin had accrued a lot of debt over the years. “His mother is a retired nurse and father was in the DTC before retiring. Both received pensions using which they ran their own household and also helped Arora’s family. Arora’s father recently spent ₹34,000 on Dhruv’s school fees,” Lal said.