East of Kailash murders: Accused teen spent 24 hours inside couple’s flat, played video game

Police said that the teenager had planned the crime in advance and that spending the night in the house after the crime was part of it.

The 17-year-old boy who allegedly killed an elderly couple in East of Kailash and spent 24 hours in their home kept himself busy by playing video games and plotting to pass off his crime as a suicide, police said.

Mount Kailash apartments in East of Kailash in Delhi where the elderly couple was found dead on Saturday in their 9th floor flat. The couple’s masseuse and her teenage son have been arrested in the case. (Biplov Bhuyan / HT Photo)

After having strangled the couple, the boy allegedly placed the two bodies on the either side of the bed in the bedroom, said police. The woman’s hands were kept bound, and the cloth used to strangulate her was also left in place around her neck to make the police believe that her husband strangled her and then killed himself, said a police officer, associated with the case.

“He brought naphthalene balls from the bathroom and threw them around the bodies to make people believe they killed themselves. He also used the pesticide to cover up the decomposition,” said a police officer, quoting a statement allegedly made by the teenager.

“To divert his attention from the crime, the boy spent the entire night playing video games on the couple’s mobile phones,” said officer.

The next day morning, the teenager allegedly used the bathroom of the bedroom adjacent to the room where the couple lay dead.

He left the apartment around 11 am, since he knew that many domestic helps visit the building for work during that time and that nobody would notice him going out.

Police said that the teenager had planned the crime in advance and that spending the night in the house after the crime was part of it.

“When we asked him why he did not leave after the murder and robbery, he told us that doing so would have aroused the suspicion of the security guards,” the officer said.

“He used the spare key to get out and lock the iron door, to make everybody believe that the doors were locked from inside,” added the officer.

According to the police, the teenager knew that the couple’s son Amit Khaneja, who is a doctor in the United States, and other relatives often contact them on their mobile phone.

“He knew that keeping the couple’s mobile phones switched off for a longer time was risky. So, he switched on the mobile phone two days after the crime. However, he kept the phones in silent mode,” said DCP Biswal.