Man murders wife, attempts suicide in Delhi’s Saket after quarrel

The two were alone at home when the incident took place around 6pm, police said, and the exact motive and circumstances of the crime were still be ascertained

A 57-year-old man allegedly killed his wife in their Saket home on Friday evening, and then tried to take his own life by slashing his neck with a kitchen knife, after an argument between the two, police officers familiar with the investigation said.

A team from Saket police station found the woman’s body lying on the floor in the bedroom. There was blood scattered inside the flat, and a bloodstained kitchen knife was found on the LCD panel in the drawing room. (Representative image)

The two were alone at home when the incident took place around 6pm, police said, and the exact motive and circumstances of the crime were still be ascertained. However, police were told by the couple’s family members that they often fought over whether or not they should sell the house they lived in.

The man may have been suffering from depression since he lost his job due to the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago, said an officer with direct knowledge of the case.

“The injured husband is getting treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital. His statement could not be obtained so far as he was not fit for the statement. The exact motive behind the crime can be ascertained only when his statement is recorded. Prime facie, the inspection of the crime scene does not suggest the role of any outsider for robbery or any other motive,” said the officer, asking not to be named.

Police said the dead woman was identified as Shashi Lata Pandey, 57, a homemaker. Her husband, Chander Mohan Pandey, who worked in the front office of a hotel in Connaught Place, was unemployed for the past two years. The name of the hotel has been withheld pending further investigation, police said.

A second officer said the couple lived with their son, Shivam, on the first floor of a four-storey building in Saket’s G block. The son, 23, works with a private company in Gurugram, and was in office at the time of the incident. Their daughter moved out of the house after her wedding in November last year, the officer added.

“During the inquiry, Shivam told us that there were some issues between his parents over the house. His father wanted to sell it, but his mother wanted to stay there. Shivam also told us that his father was undergoing some depression since he lost his job,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Benita Mary Jaiker, adding that police were informed about the crime through a call made at 7.09pm on Friday to the police control room.

The first person to reach the spot was the injured man’s nephew, Kapil Pandey, who lives on the ground floor of the building, Jaiker said. Kapil was informed about a quarrel between the couple by his aunt (Chander Mohan Pandey’s sister), who lives in Indirapuram. She had called her brother when she heard that he and his wife were in the middle of an intense quarrel. She immediately contacted Kapil, and asked him to rush to the flat to check on them, police said.

“Kapil told us that when he went up, his uncle (Pandey) opened the door. His clothes were soaked in blood, and there was a deep cut wound on the left side of his neck. His uncle asked him to call the police, and said, “Sab khatam ho gaya (everything is over).” Kapil called the ambulance services of a nearby private hospital. The ambulance doctor declared the woman dead,” said Jaiker.

A team from Saket police station found the woman’s body lying on the floor in the bedroom. There was blood scattered inside the flat, and a bloodstained kitchen knife was found on the LCD panel in the drawing room. “There were no visible injury marks on the woman’s body. Prime facie, it appears that she was either strangled or smothered with a pillow. The exact cause of her death will be ascertained with the autopsy report that is awaited,” said the second officer.

No police complaint on any domestic dispute was filed by the woman against her husband, Jaiker said.

The couple’s neighbours said they did not hear any quarrel at the flat on Friday evening. An elderly woman who lives in an adjacent apartment said: “I learnt about the incident from our family members. We don’t know what exactly happened.”