Delhi: Tailor killed by adopted daughter’s friend for refusing to consent to their wedding

A 50-year-old tailor was stabbed to death with multiple kitchen knives and his head smashed with a pressure cooker for refusing to let his adopted daughter get married

A 50-year-old tailor was stabbed to death with multiple kitchen knives and his head smashed with a pressure cooker for refusing to let his adopted daughter get married to her friend because of the difference in their castes, the Delhi Police said on Monday.

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The murder took place in northeast Delhi’s Sonia Vihar on Saturday morning and the alleged killer—the friend of the victim’s adopted daughter—was arrested from north Delhi on Sunday.

The victim, Vijender Singh, lived with his wife and a 24-year-old woman he had adopted from his brother when she was a child.

“Sometime last year, the daughter entered into a relationship with a local man, Suraj Kumar,” said Ved Prakash Surya, deputy commissioner of police (north-east). Kumar worked in the housekeeping department of the Delhi Metro at Palam Metro station, the DCP said.

“The couple wanted to get married, but her adoptive parents were strongly against it, due to the difference in caste,” the officer said.

Since the daughter insisted on getting married to Kumar, her adoptive parents sent her away to live with her biological parents in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

“Kumar’s parents then visited the woman’s biological parents for their consent to the wedding, but Singh intervened and objected again,” the DCP said.

The police said this angered Kumar and he held Singh responsible, the officer said. “For several days, he planned different ways to kill Singh, but failed to execute them,” said the officer.

On the morning of November 28, while heading to office, he noticed Singh’s wife walking to a temple near her house. “For the next few days, he loitered around to observe her schedule. He got to know that she visited the temple every Saturday morning. He held a grudge only against Singh and not his wife, so he decided to strike when she wasn’t at home. He though that would also ensure he wasn’t identified as the killer,” said the DCP.

On November 5, he reached the house around 8.30am and waited for Singh’s wife to leave for the temple. “As soon as she was gone, he entered Singh’s house and locked the door. He knew he had 20 minutes to carry out his plan,” said the DCP.

Inside, Kumar allegedly first thrashed Singh with his bare fists. Then, he allegedly picked up three knives from the kitchen and stabbed Singh repeatedly. “Finally, he picked up a pressure cooker and smashed Singh’s head repeatedly with it,” said the DCP.

By the end, Kumar’s clothes were soaked in the victim’s blood. “He removed his clothes, wore Singh’s fresh clothes and started to leave the crime scene,” said the DCP.

But as he emerged from the house, Singh’s wife arrived and he got into a brief confrontation with her, but managed to escape.

The personnel who registered a case at Khajuri Khas police station arrested Kumar from Civil Lines on Sunday. They said they have seized three kitchen knives, a wooden log and a pressure cooker which were allegedly used in the crime.