Traces of blood on wiper, bottom of bed to help cops in Delhi murder

Poonam and her son Deepak, who allegedly killed her third husband Anjan Das and chopped his body into 10 pieces at their house, washed the house 4 times with water and detergent to remove all blood traces.

Weeks after a woman and her son were arrested from Trilokpuri for allegedly killing her husband and chopping his body into 10 pieces six months ago, the police are yet to find incriminating evidence against them as the suspects had cleaned their house and the murder weapon with chemicals multiple times.

Poonam and her son Deepak were arrested in Trilokpuri on November 27 for allegedly murdering her husband Anjan Das in May and chopping his body into 10 pieces. They allegedly disposed of the body parts at an open field in Kalyanpuri known as Ramlila ground. (HT Photo)

However, police have now found blood traces at the two places in their house that the suspects, Poonam (48) and her son Deepak (25), did not clean with chemicals – under the bed in the room where the murder occurred, and a wiper used to clear the floor, said an investigator working on the case.

Poonam and Deepak were arrested on November 27 for allegedly stabbing Poonam’s third husband, Anjan Das, on May 30.

“It’s been six months since the murder and there was little hope of finding evidence at the house where the murder took place,” said the investigator cited above. “But the Forensic Science Laboratory team, while examining the bedroom, recovered a wiper which was used to clear Das’ blood, mixed with water, from the floor. The team has found traces of blood on the wiper. Some traces have also been found at the bottom of the bed’s legs, which we suspect are from the time of the murder,” the officer added.

According to police, after the murder, Poonam and Deepak let the blood drain out of Das’ body over three to four hours, after which they cleaned the house at least four times with a detergent and water to remove all traces of blood.

Next, they chopped his body into pieces, stuffed the pieces in plastic bags and disposed them piecemeal in an open field in Kalyanpuri, locally known as Ramlila ground, under the jurisdiction of Pandav Nagar police station, officers said.

The residence of Poonam and Deepak in Trilokpuri in New Delhi. After chopping up her husband Anjan, Poonam and Deepak stored the body parts in a refrigerator. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

While police found six of the body parts between June 5 and June 7, they could not identify the deceased man until they examined CCTV footage six months later.

“While Poonam and Deepak washed the wiper properly with water and removed blood from the bottom of the bed, they didn’t think to clean the wiper or the area below the bed with chemicals. They seem to have washed them only with water, which is why blood traces have been found on them,” the officer said.

Police are now awaiting forensic reports of the latest findings, which will link Poonam and Deepak to Das’ murder if the blood is found to be his, the officer said.

Poonam and Deepak told investigators that they used two weapons to commit the murder - a knife and a sickle - of which the sickle has been recovered, police officers said. “While the sickle has been sent for forensic examination as well, there is little to no chance of any blood traces on it,” the investigator said.

Of the 10 parts in which Das’ body was disposed of, four are yet to be recovered, police said. “For the last two years, no Ramlila was celebrated at this ground. But the event was held this year and the organisers used machines to flatten the ground. To find the remaining body parts, we used digging machines but haven’t been able to find anything so far,” the officer said.