Ghaziabad: Man arrested for murdering 65-year-old mother, differently abled brother

Identifying the killer as the woman’s eldest son Dharmendra Kumar, police said the motive for the murders was the property in Devi’s name and also a falling out he had with his mother over money

A 45-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday evening for allegedly bludgeoning to death his 65-year-old mother and his 40-year-old differently abled brother at their house in Gulabd Vatika in Loni, senior police officers said.

Suspect 45-year-old Dharmendra Kumar in police custody in Ghaziabad, on Wednesday. (Sakib Ali /Hindustan Times)

The two victims were identified as Yashoda Devi and her son, Vijendra Kumar. Both stayed on the first floor of the house while Devi’s youngest son, Akash Kumar, 32, stayed on the ground floor and her eldest son, Dharmendra Kumar, 45, stayed on the second floor with his wife and four minor children.

The two were found murdered in bed with multiple critical injuries to their faces and head. The police said Vijendra could not defend himself owing to his medical condition while his mother put up a small resistance before she too was overpowered and killed.

Identifying the killer as the woman’s eldest son Dharmendra Kumar, police said the motive for the murders was the property in Devi’s name and also a falling out he had with his mother over money.

For the past one year, Devi had been hinting to Dharmendra that she would write him out of her will and divide her property equally among her other four children, including two married daughters.

On Sunday, Dharmendra demanded ₹1.5 lakh from Devi to clear a loan, but she turned him down. This did not go well with Dharmendra and he came home in an inebriated state on Tuesday night,” said Vivek Chandra Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (rural).

Around 11.30pm, Dharmendra allegedly went to the terrace and picked up a stand from an old charpoy lying there. He then went to the first floor and allegedly bludgeoned the two victims to death in their sleep, police said.

Police said it was Dharmendra and his wife who alerted the Loni Border police station about the murders around 9.30am on Wednesday.

“During inspection of the crime scene, it came to fore that the main gate of the house was locked on Tuesday night and there was no possibility of an intrusion. Only the door leading to the terrace on the second floor was found open but it was impossible for anyone to scale the height and enter the house. Thereafter, a blood detection test was performed in the house and traces of blood were found in Dharmendra’s second floor room and washroom,” the DCP said.

“He wore a shorts during the murder and then went to the terrace to throw away the murder weapon. He, however, forgot to lock the terrace door. Then, he went to take bath and also wiped off the bloodstains from his body with a cloth, which he pushed below a trunk in his room. His wife was asleep with her children and she did not know anything about the murders,” said a police investigator said, asking not to be named.

After the forensics discovered bloodstains in Dharmendra’s room, he and his wife were called in for questioning on Wednesday afternoon. There, Dharmendra admitted to the murders, the DCP said.

The police said that they have registered an FIR for murder against Dharmendra on complaint given by his younger brother.