Gr Noida man hammers sister to death, severely injures mother over debt

Police said the family had taken a large bank loan during the Covid-19 pandemic to build their three-story house and were struggling to repay it

A 28-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her 26-year-old brother in the Surajpur area of Greater Noida on Sunday afternoon, police said. The suspect, identified as Shubham Garg, also attacked his 54-year-old mother, Vinita Garg, when she tried to intervene. While Shipra Garg, the victim, succumbed to her injuries, her mother is in critical condition and undergoing treatment at a hospital, they added.

Police said they received an emergency call at 12.25pm on Sunday about the incident. (Representational image)

According to police, they received an emergency call at 12.25pm on Sunday about the incident. “We were informed that a hammer had fallen from the second floor of a three-storeyed building and that a woman, Shipra, and her mother, Vinita, were grievously injured. Locals suspected that Shubham had attacked them, so we directed them to hold him until police arrived,” said a police officer involved in the investigation, requesting anonymity.

Police rushed the victims to a private hospital, where Shipra was declared dead, while Vinita remains critical. Shipra was a physiotherapist by profession, they added.

Family’s financial troubles led to attack

Shubham Garg, a graduate running a grocery shop in Ghaziabad’s Lal Kuan area, reportedly attacked his sister and mother due to family financial troubles, officers aware of the case said.

”During interrogation, Shubham revealed that he had decided to kill both his mother and sister before taking his own life. But when he was attacking Shipra, Vinita intervened and managed to grab the hammer before throwing it outside,” said BS Vir Kumar, assistant commissioner of police (central Noida).

Police said that Shubham usually left home with his father for work, but on Sunday, he stayed back while his father, Mukesh Garg, went to the shop alone. Investigations revealed that the family had taken a large bank loan during the COVID-19 pandemic to build their three-story house and were struggling to repay it, they added.

A case has been registered under Section 103 (murder) and 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Surajpur police station based on the complaint of the accused’s father, and further investigations are ongoing. According to investigators, police are still trying to ascertain the amount of debt the family had accumulated.