35-year-old stabs father to death, triggers cylinder blast in east Delhi, held

A 35-year-old man went on a stabbing spree, killing his 64-year-old father and injuring two locals on Sunday in east Delhi.

A 35-year-old man went on a stabbing spree on Sunday , killing his 64-year-old father and injuring three locals in east Delhi.

The apartment where the incident took place on Sunday. Rahul Matta’s entry to the apartment was banned a few months ago. (Arun Sharma/HT photo)

When police and residents tried stopping him, the man allegedly opened a cylinder knob and lit a matchstick, leading to an explosion that injured eight police officers.

The accused, identified as Rahul Matta, worked in merchant navy in Canada and has been detained.

Four police officers, along with Rahul Matta, have been admitted to a city hospital with burns. DCP (east) Omvir Singh said that Matta has been detained at the hospital.

The incident

Police said around 2.35pm, Matta reached the main gate of Ajanta Apartment in IP Extension, with two meat cleavers. The security guard, Nandan, refused to let him enter because the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) had banned his entry a few months ago after receiving complaints of harassment against him from some women living in the apartment. RWA officials said Matta’s parents had severed ties with him after he married against their wishes and he lived separately.

Eyewitnesses told police that Matta stabbed Nandan and gained entry into the building where he went to the first floor, where his parents lived, and knocked. He stabbed his father Ravinder as soon as he opened the door. Hearing Ravinder’s screams a neighbour, Renu Bansal, rushed to their flat where she was also stabbed.

Later, Matta ran to the top floor and entered one VK Sharma’s flat.

“He screamed that he had killed his father and he will kill me too. I ran for my life, locked myself in a room and called police,” said Sharma.

A police team later arrived at the spot and tried to stop Matta. A panicked Matta opened a cylinder knob and lit a matchstick.

“We evacuated people residing in the area. The Delhi Fire Service was contacted and the PNG gas line connection stopped,” said a senior police official.

Matta’s father, Ravinder, was rushed to a hospital where was declared brought dead.

Obsessed with navy uniform, had served jail term

Rahul Matta went to Canada a decade ago and got a job in merchant navy. But locals claimed that after serving a jail term in Canada, allegedly over assaulting a woman, he came back to Delhi two years ago.

After his return, Matta couldn’t get over his obsession with the navy. He would wear his uniform and move around the society complex on a bicycle.

“He would speak to his neighbours in English. He seemed very proud of his tenure spent in the navy and boasted about it,” said JL Gupta, RWA secretary.