Murder or suicide? Why police in a fix over East Delhi double murder
East Delhi double murder: Geetanjali and her two-year-old daughter were found dead baby inside a locked flat with stab wounds on their bodies. Delhi Police first suspected it to be a murder case but now confused.
The initial autopsy reports of mother-daughter duo found dead at their rented home at West Vinod Nagar house near Mandawali in east Delhi last week has left the Delhi Police scratching their heads.
Geetanjali, 25, and her two-year-old daughter, Ananya, were found in a pool of blood in the flat that was locked from inside.
Geetanjali’s preliminary autopsy reports say that the four stab wounds found on her stomach were self-inflicted while Ananya’s reports substantiate that she was stabbed over a dozen times, said a senior police officer.
The latest developments have confused the investigators, who till the arrival of preliminary autopsy reports were probing the deaths as a case of double murder. Their investigation is now back to square one because the preliminary autopsy reports hint that Geetanjali first allegedly killed her daughter and then killed herself.
Weapon missing
The investigators are baffled as the kitchen knife that was used to commit the crime has been missing from the crime scene.
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The knife could not be recovered even when cops searched the entire flat, all pipelines and drains connected to the building.
“What we saw and found at the crime scene contradicts the autopsy reports. If Geetanjali used a kitchen knife to kill her daughter before killing herself in the flat that was locked from inside, why it was not found near their bodies and where did it disappear?” said a senior investigator.
Suicide note complicates case
Another confusing element in the case is a purported “suicide note” that was found near the bodies. The hand-written note said that Geetanjali took the extreme step because of personal and family reasons.
When Station House Officer (SHO) of the Mandawali police station visited the crime scene and read the note, he straightaway updated his supervising officer that it was an “open and shut” case of suicide after murder. But as the district DCP and other senior officers were told that the flat was locked and the weapon of the offence was missing, they directed him to register a murder case and initiate the probe.
No evidence against suspects
Geetanjali’s husband Mithlesh Anand, an Indian railways employee, became the prime suspect because he only had told his landlord’s son how they can open the balcony door and enter the flat after reaching there through the balcony on the staircase.
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The landlord’s son, who first entered the flat and saw the bodies, become the second suspect because the cops suspect him of allegedly removing the knife.
Anand and his landlord’s son were detained and questioned to probe their alleged role in the crime. The suspicion grew further against Anand when he told investigators that the handwriting in the note was not of his wife. But in the absence of concrete evidence, cops released them.
“Geetanjali and her daughter died between 11am and noon. Between that period, Anand was at his office and this has been corroborated by his colleagues and his mobile phone location. The other suspect had to a local gym and his presence was confirmed by the CCTV camera footage,” the officer said.
Investigators were initially hopeful that Geetanjali’s parents would accuse Anand with murder charges. But they were taken aback when her family members gave Anand a clean chit, saying they do not suspect him.
What next
Anand is presently at his hometown in Bhagalpur, Bihar, attending the last rites of his dear ones. The police are now planning to collect details about the couple’s background. They believe that going into their past might give some clue that will lead them to establish the motive and sequence of events that led to the deaths of the duo.
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Geetanjali’s handwriting samples will be collected from her parents and will be matched with the note’s handwriting by handwriting experts.