Siblings found dead inside family shop in Delhi, father absconding

During the probe, it was found that the children's father was upset due to some financial issues.

A 13-year-old girl and his younger brother were found dead inside their father's grocery shop in northwest Delhi's Keshav Puram area on Saturday, police said.

According to a police officer, it is suspected that Manish killed his children by giving them some poisonous substance or by smothering them.(HT File)

The children’s father Manish, who is suspected to have killed the two siblings, is absconding and efforts are on to nab him, they said.

A call regarding the incident was received at 7.15 pm, police said.

Manish's wife told police that both the children had gone to school but they did not return home. Initially, she thought that they were with their father as he would often pick them up from their school, they said.

"She tried to contact Manish but his mobile phone was not reachable. In the evening, when other family members opened the shutter of their shop, they found the two siblings lying inside in an unconscious condition," an officer said.

They were taken to hospital where doctors declared them dead, he said, adding that their school bags were also lying inside the shop, located on the ground floor of their house.

According to a police officer, it is suspected that Manish killed his children by giving them some poisonous substance or by smothering them.

"The matter is being investigated from all possible angles and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem," the officer said, adding the actual cause of death will be ascertained only after the report comes.

During investigation, it was found that Manish was upset due to some financial issue, however, further probe is underway. The statements of the family members have been taken, police said.

The CCTVs in the locality are being scanned and teams were formed to locate Manish, police said.