Rajendra Park murder spree: Main accused commits suicide in Bhondsi jail

The accused had surrendered at the Rajendra Park police station following the murder spree, and was lodged in Bhondsi jail along with his wife. The police said he did not display any sign of distress on Monday

A retired army subedar, who was lodged in Bhondsi jail for allegedly murdering his daughter-in-law and three tenants at their Rajendra Park residence in August, died by hanging himself from a grille outside his barrack, the police said on Tuesday.

The accused allegedly killed his daughter-in-law and three of a tenant’s family in a murder spree on August 23, at their residence in Rajendra Park, following which he was produced in court and lodged in Bhondsi jail. (HT Archive)

Sanjay Kumar, the assistant superintendent of jails, Bhondsi, said that a warden of the jail found the accused, Rao Rai Singh, hanging from a grille in the gallery outside Barrack 3A. “The warden raised the alarm and started an investigation. The deceased had used the part of a bedsheet to commit suicide. A magisterial inquiry is being conducted into the incident and proceedings under Section 176 of CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure] have been initiated,” Kumar said.

The police said that the body was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday and that it was handed over to the family members after a post-mortem examination, reports of which are awaited.

Jail officials said that Singh behaved normally on Monday and did not exhibit any emotional distress. “He last met his wife on Saturday as she is also in jail for the same offence. He also used to compose songs as he visited the music centre in the jail,” Kumar said.

Rao Rai Singh was arrested for allegedly murdering four persons on August 23 over suspicions of an extramarital affair between a tenant, Krishan Tiwari (42), and his daughter-in-law, Sunita (32), at their residence in Sector 105 of Rajendra Park. Singh’s wife is also lodged in the same jail.

Harinder Singh, the jail superintendent, said that a team of judiciary officials visited the jail to conduct an inquiry. “We have not found any suicide note from his possession,” he said.

The accused used to run a real estate business in Rajendra Park and lived in a three-storey building with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law. He was also the vice-president of the residents’ welfare association.

Following the murders, Singh surrendered at the Rajendra Park police station around 6am on August 23 and confessed to having killed four people. The deceased were identified as Sunita Yadav, Krishan Tiwari, Anamika Tiwari (Krishan’s wife), and a minor girl.

Preet Pal Sangwan, the assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that during the preliminary investigation, they ascertained that the accused murdered his daughter-in-law over suspicions of having an extramarital relationship with Tiwari. “First, he murdered his daughter-in-law, who was sleeping on the first floor and then went on the second floor and killed three family members with a sharp weapon. A minor daughter of the tenant, who was also attacked, survived,” he said.

While the police did not find a suicide note on his possession, sub-inspector Krishan Kumar, who is the investigating officer in the case, said that they found a register in which Rao wrote about his life experiences. “This register was issued to him from the IGNOU study centre in the jail. We have not gone through the entries in the register,” he said.