Neighbours taken aback by murder

The neighborhood of DB Block in Hari Nagar is aken aback by the news of Manju's murder allegedly by her husband Mukesh.

Police described the brutality with which an apparently drunk Mukesh Monga stabbed his wife in the neck, and later tried to behead her, possibly in a planned manner. However, neighbours remembered him as a gentle person who would address even those slightly younger than him as “beta” and “beti”.

A woman who irons clothes in the neighbourhood saw the two having a heated argument in the morning before leaving for their respective workplaces.

“I didn’t see anything alarming as i have seen them fight on several occasions. But never did i imagine that he would kill her,” the woman said without revealing her name.
Neighbours of the Mongas told Deccan Herald that the family had basically been torn between the couple for the last many years.

“Mukesh and his father live in a separate room in the same house. Although, the family although has a single kitchen but they prepare their food separately,” said Archana Mehta, their neighbour.

Mukesh and his family have been living in their three-bedroom flat in for the last two decades.

The couple had a daughter Vartika, 32, who works in an NGO, and a son Dhawal, 26, who is a model cum actor.

Neighbours said in the last decade or so, they have mostly found the couple fighting for one reason or the other.

“I frequently hear their noises coming through my kitchen window. Many times police have also been called to resolve their disputes,” said Archana.

According to neighbours, the main bone of contention between the couple was the presence of Mukesh’s father in the house.

“Manju never liked her father-in-law. Ever since her mother-in-law had passed away four years back, there have been frequent problems in the family over the presence of the octogenarian,” claimed a neighbour who didn’t want to reveal his identity.

In all such disputes Mukesh always stood by his father which was not liked by Manju and their children, neighbours said.

In few instances, neighbours said Mukesh had to leave the house with his father for few days and live in a hotel or at some friend’s house due to domestic violence.

“Both the children were under the influence of their mother. We know in couple of instances when the children were also involved in the fight,” claimed a neighbour.
But the immediate neighbour of the couple, who has allegedly witnessed the family problems from a close range, was tight-lipped about the whole episode.