Police: Karawal Nagar murder part of pre-planned robbery, one held

Police said three men--Badal, his father Kamal and his cousin Ashok-- allegedly planned to rob the woman, Shanti Devi, seven months ago after Kamal and Ashok worked on renovating her house

Nine days after an 88-year-old woman was murdered at her home in northeast Delhi’s Karawal Nagar, the northeast district police said they arrested one man, who allegedly committed the crime with his father and cousin, from Rama Colony on Tuesday.

Police recovered two stolen gold bangles, one gold and two silver pendants, a pair of gold ear studs, 10 silver coins, and ₹7,500 in cash from the suspect. (HT Photo)

Badal is a 24-year-old sanitation worker at a private hospital in Ghaziabad’s Vaishali, police said, adding the other two suspects are on the run. Police recovered two stolen gold bangles, one gold and two silver pendants, a pair of gold ear studs, 10 silver coins, and ₹7,500 in cash from him. Police added that the three men--Badal, his father Kamal and his cousin Ashok-- allegedly planned to rob the woman, Shanti Devi, seven months ago after Kamal and Ashok worked on renovating her house and noticed that she seemed well-off. They had even made two previous attempts in January to rob the house, said police.

“Robbery was the only motive for Shanti Devi’s murder. The three had been planning the crime since Kamal and his nephew Ashok worked at her house around seven months ago. Their two attempts on January 17 and 22 failed because the first time they spotted a man smoking and talking on the phone in the lane outside her house, and the second time, they panicked after spotting police patrol vans in the area,” said deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain.

Police said that around 1am on January 29, the three suspects decided to finally go ahead with their plan, assuming that the noise from a religious gathering in the neighbourhood would drown out any other sound. They entered Devi’s house after breaking one of the four doors of her house and found her asleep in bed.

“As they ransacked the house, the noise woke Devi up. Fearing she may identify them and raise an alarm, the trio gagged her with a cloth, bound her limbs and tied her to the bed. We are awaiting the autopsy report to determine the cause of death. The men ramsacked the entire house, including all almirahs, and fled with cash and valuables,” said an investigator.

The murder came to light around 9am when Vansh Gupta, a neighbour, found a door to Devi’s house ajar. He knocked multiple times but Devi did not respond. He then called his grandfather, who advised him to contact police. A police team arrived and, after inspecting the crime scene, registered a case of robbery and murder and formed multiple teams to try and solve it.

“It was a blind case as there was no CCTV installed near the house. The teams scanned CCTV cameras on the routes leading to the house and zeroed in on three people. Their identities were ascertained and local enquiry revealed that their house --2km away in Rama Garden in Karawal Nagar-- had been locked for the past few days. Further probe revealed that they originally belonged to Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh,” said DCP Sain.

One team was sent to Aligarh but the suspects could not be found. Another team was stationed outside the Rama Garden house. Early Tuesday morning, Badal returned to the Rama Garden house and was caught. His interrogation led to the recovery of some of the stolen jewellery and cash. The teams are now looking for his father and cousin, the DCP said.

Devi lived alone in a single-storey, eight-bedroom house after her husband Om Prakash Sharma died in January 2018. She is survived by her three sons, who retired as gazetted officers and live with their families in Delhi and Faridabad.