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Mother-daughter stabbed to death in east Delhi flat
The daughter, Samrita Mary, had trained in hotel management and had recently interned with a five-star hotel in Delhi. Her mother, 45-year-old Sumita Mary, worked with an event management firm.
A 25-year-old woman and her mother were murdered in their apartment at a housing society in east Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar early Monday, allegedly by the younger woman’s friend and his associate.
The alleged attackers drove away with the victims’ car after stabbing them multiple times but one of them was later caught near Jaipur, police said.
The daughter, Samrita Mary, had trained in hotel management and had recently interned with a five-star hotel in Delhi. Her mother, 45-year-old Sumita Mary, worked with an event management firm.
A senior investigator said the mother-daughter duo was murdered by Samrita’s friend Vikrant Nagar alias Vinay, and his associate, whose identity is yet to be confirmed. “Our initial probe suggested relationship issues between Samrita and Vikrant had something to do with the killings,” the investigator said.
Jasmeet Singh, deputy commissioner of police (east district), said Vikrant was caught near Jaipur while he was trying to escape in a bus. His associate is on the run. Vikrant is yet to be formally arrested.
The Marys hailed from Kerala but had been living in a two-bedroom flat they owned in the Mansara Apartments in New Ashok Nagar. Sumita had lost her husband years ago and lived with Samrita, who was her only child.
“Samrita and Vikrant were friends for many years, but their friendship had begun to sour recently,” said Samrita’s friend, who refused to reveal his name. A man in his early 20s, Vikrant lives in south Delhi’s Amar Colony and was into modelling until sometime ago, a police officer said.
The residents of the building remembered seeing Samrita return home around 11pm on Sunday. “Around midnight, Vikrant and another man walked into the apartment. We were familiar with Vikrant since he would frequently visit,” a resident said.
Investigators said the murders took place sometime between midnight and 4 am on Monday when Vikrant and his associate drove away from the apartment in a Baleno car belonging to the Marys.
The apartment guards had seen the car repeatedly hit the property’s side walls and ram the main gate to bring it down in a bid to escape in a hurry. “Vikrant didn’t know how to drive properly,” said a family friend. Their escape was allegedly captured by CCTV cameras installed at the apartment gates.
The guards didn’t feel the need to alert police about the damage to property. “The neighbourhood is no stranger to incidents of drunk driving. The guards thought it was just another drunk man behind the wheel,” a resident said.
The killings came to light around 8 am when a domestic help arrived to work. “She had a set of spare keys. She opened the door to find the women lying dead on the floor of their flat on the third floor of the building. They had been stabbed multiple times,” said a senior investigator who didn’t want to be identified.
Since the police were aware of the identity of at least one of the suspects early on in their probe, they tracked Vikrant until they learnt that he was headed towards Jaipur. “The Rajasthan Police helped us nab Vikrant from the bus near Jaipur. We’ll question him about the motive and his absconding associate once he is brought to Delhi,” said the DCP. The location of the stolen car is yet to be ascertained.
