Music, English tutors behind east Delhi double murders: Cops

According to police, the women were allegedly murdered during a robbery and not killed due to a property dispute, as suspected earlier

Two days after 76-year-old Rajrani Karar and her 39-year-old daughter Ginni Karar were found murdered inside their flat in east Delhi’s Krishna Nagar, police on Friday said they have apprehended a music teacher for his alleged role in the killings.

Locals outside the house in Krishna Nagar where the mother-daughter duo were found killed on Wednesday night, in New Delhi. (Sonu Mehta/HT)

The apprehended man was identified as Ankit Singh Rajput, who is in his 20s. Police said they have also formed teams to nab the second suspect, Kishan (identified by his first name), who is also in his 20s and used to teach English to Ginni, who was afflicted with autism and a speech impediment. Rajput, a music teacher, accompanied him to carry out the robbery and murder. Police added that both the suspects hail from Bihar and were living in separate rented accommodations in east Delhi.

According to police, the women were allegedly murdered during a robbery on the night of May 25, and not killed due to a property dispute as suspected earlier. The two men were also captured on CCTV cameras outside the building twice in a one-and-a-half-hour period, said police.

“Rajput has confessed that he and Ginni’s English teacher, Kishan, slit their throats with a knife that they bought in Laxmi Nagar. Their main motive was robbery. The two ransacked the flat after killing them and fled with jewellery, some cash, and three iPhones. Kishan is still at large and our teams are looking for him,” said a senior police officer requesting anonymity.

The officer added that the two suspects gained friendly entry to the flat since Kishan was Ginni’s tutor. Investigators said that the first clue in the case emerged through technical surveillance as one of the stolen phones was switched on near Lucknow. They said two unidentified men were already under the scanner after suspicious movements were noticed on the CCTV camera outside the victims’ house on the night of May 25.

Police said the two arrived near the building in an auto. While entering the building, only Kishan showed his face and was let in by Rajrani.

“The video footage showed the two men arriving outside the building at 9.50pm carrying a backpack. At 11.12pm, the two were captured on the camera leaving the area. This time, the left hand of one of them was seen covered with a white gauze bandage, hinting at an injury. The footage also showed that the second man had changed his t-shirt, making them our prime suspects,” said an investigator, requesting anonymity.

After learning that the suspects may have fled to Lucknow, police said they checked the CCTV cameras of toll tax booths of all routes leading to Lucknow from Delhi. The same suspects were seen travelling to Lucknow in a car two days ago and then returning to Delhi, investigators added.

“We caught Rajput from east Delhi on Friday afternoon,” the investigator quoted above said, adding that Kishan has left Delhi in a train and is being trailed by a police team.

Police officers associated with the probe said that the exact amount of cash and jewellery stolen from the house will be ascertained only when Kishan is also arrested.

Till Friday evening, the officers said, no recovery of the stolen items could be made because Rajput accused Kishan as the alleged mastermind of the crime.

Rajput, however, revealed the entire incident on the night of May 25. His disclosures will be corroborated with Kishan’s version once the latter is arrested, the officers said.

“Rajput disclosed that the mother-daughter duo had finished their dinner by the time they reached the apartment. Rajrani went to her bedroom and Ginni was in the kitchen when they overpowered Ginni and slit her throat. When Rajrani came out, they pinned her on the floor and slit her throat as well. Kishan suffered cuts on his left hand during the incident. He put bandages on the wound to stop the bleeding while Rajput changed his t-shirt because there were blood stains on it. He was carrying a spare t-shirt in the backpack. Then they ransacked the flat and decamped with jewellery and other items,” the officer added.

Police said that once they nab Kishan, the sequence of events will become clearer, including how long the suspects were planning the robbery and murders for. The police earlier suspected a property dispute behind the murders and were also looking into the role of her two other daughters, who are married and live in east Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar and Indirapuram near Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The lead, however, did not check out, police said.

Rajrani and Ginni were planning to sell the Krishna Nagar flat for ₹1.74 crore, and had plans to shift to a rented flat in south Delhi’s Nehru Place around six months ago.

Police said the suspects may have known, and thought that there might be cash kept at the house. The victims’ bodies remained in the first-floor three-bedroom flat for nearly a week until neighbours noticed a strong stench emanating from the flat and subsequently informed the police on Wednesday.

The residents initially thought the stench was due to dead rats, and got the common areas and houses cleaned, before they informed the police.