Man reported as suicide victim was strangled in Delhi; police suspect wife, children

The victim lived with his 42-year-old NDMC employee wife, three daughters (21, 19, 17) and 8-year-old son; all claimed they were unaware of the incident.

Police suspect the involvement of a 45-year-old man’s family – his wife, and four children – in his alleged murder at their residence in central Delhi’s Anna Nagar. While the man was initially rushed to a hospital on Sunday night by his family and declared dead on arrival, a subsequent postmortem revealed that he had been strangled, officials said Thursday.

During inspection, investigators found no evidence of suicide and no sign of any outsider entering the house, as per neighbours' statements. (PTI file)

A senior police officer said the deceased, an NDMC employee, was a resident of Anna Nagar. “At 9pm on Sunday, Lok Nayak hospital informed us that a man had been brought in and declared dead. When we reached the hospital, we were told that his wife and a neighbour had brought him there. She claimed he had hanged himself,” the officer said.

However, doctors found ligature marks on the neck. “There was no hanging material recovered from the house. The autopsy, conducted on Monday, confirmed death due to rupture of the trachea caused by manual strangulation, likely involving more than one person,” the officer added.

During the inspection, investigators privy to the case said they found no evidence supporting the suicide claim. Investigators questioned neighbours and found no sign of any outsider entering the house that evening.

The victim lived with his 42-year-old wife, also an NDMC employee, and four children — three daughters aged 21, 19 and 17, and an 8-year-old son. All family members claimed innocence.

“Neighbours and relatives said he regularly got drunk and physically assaulted his wife and children,” the officer said. The victim’s sister corroborated this, saying, “He used to beat his wife in front of everyone. But we don’t know how he died.”

Police said further action will follow after the final postmortem report.