Delhi double murder: Suspects made WhatsApp group to plan crime

Police said the initial mission of the suspects was to take money from Rajrani’s bank account

A WhatsApp group named “Mission Malamaal” (mission rich) was allegedly being operated by Ankit Singh Rajput and his cousin Kishan to plan the robbery and murder of 76-year-old Rajrani Karar and her 39-year-old daughter Ginni Karar, who were found dead inside their Krishna Nagar flat in east Delhi on Wednesday, the Delhi Police said on Sunday.

The two suspects allegedly killed the mother-daughter duo in their Krishna Nagar flat on May 25. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

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Police said the initial mission of the suspects was to take money from Rajrani’s bank account by either transferring the amount to pseudonymous accounts or withdrawing cash. “There was around ₹60 lakh in Rajrani’s bank account. But Rajput and Kishan were unable to transfer the money as the net banking facility was not activated and Rajrani also did not have an ATM card,” said Rohit Meena, deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara).

Police said that Kishan, who was Ginni’s tutor and the mastermind behind the crime, had won Rajrani’s trust and even helped her with some bank-related issue once, during which he found out about her bank balance, said the DCP, adding that thereafter, he allegedly tried to siphon off the money but was not skilled enough to carry out the crime.

“The main target of the robbery was the substantial amount of jewellery Rajrani had saved up for Ginni’s wedding. But they could not land the jewellery as it was not in the house,” said the DCP. Kishan gave computer tuition to Ginni, who was autistic and suffered from speech impairment. Earlier, officers privy to the investigation had said that Kishan was the English tutor.

The decomposing bodies of the mother-daughter duo were found inside their flat in Krishna Nagar on Wednesday night after neighbours alerted the police about a foul stench emanating from the apartment. According to the police, the victims were murdered on May 25.

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Police said Rajput was arrested on Friday afternoon and Kishan on Saturday evening after they returned from Lucknow. The two left for Lucknow in a car the day after the murder, where Kishan had to attend an event where he would also meet his girlfriend. In Lucknow, Kishan left Rajput in a guest house and went to attend the event. The two stayed there for two days and returned to Delhi on May 28.

While Kishan, 28, worked as a marketing manager with a private firm, and as an English tutor to Ginni part-time, his cousin, Rajput, 26, taught music at various schools in Bihar and was also part of a band. “He was involved in the composition of music and writing of lyrics for an upcoming OTT film,” said Meena.

The cousins entered the building at 9.50pm on May 25 on the pretext of introducing Kishan (KISHAN OR RAJPUT?) as a music teacher since Rajrani was seeking a tutor for Ginni.

“Inside the house, one of them asked Ginni for water. When she went into the kitchen, the suspects attacked Rajrani with their knives and slit her throat. When Ginni was returning from the kitchen, one of them killed her as well,” said the DCP.

They then ransacked the house to find just about ₹60,000, so they left the house at 11.12pm with the cash, a laptop, and three iPhones, among other things, police said. They were unable to land any jewellery or the bigger amount of cash that they were hoping for.

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Initially, it was CCTV footage of Kishan, corroborated by the security guard which gave him away, police said. “That was further confirmed when the phones of the victim and the suspect were found to have latched on to the same mobile tower in Lucknow after the killings,” said an investigator.