Unidentified men attacked an elderly couple by slitting their throats when they were taking a stroll in a park in northwest Delhi's Rohini area on Sunday.
While 56-year-old Kanchan died on the spot, her husband Kulbhushan Bhutani (60) is undergoing treatment and is in a critical condition.
Police said the crime appears to be a planned one as none of their belongings were robbed. Kanchan’s gold jewellery and mobile phone were recovered by the police. Police also found the knife used in the attack.
The couple, who had been residing in Prashant Vihar’s Laxmi Kunj apartments for the past 25 years, lived with two sons, their wives and children.
According to the police, the couple was attacked around 8.30pm on Sunday when they were sitting on a bench in a children's park near their house. Bhutani called his family, who were out at the movies, around 9.30 pm to tell them what had happened.
A ‘dabbawallah’ rushed Bhutani to the Bhagwati Hospital, which is adjacent to the park in Rohini sector 13.
At the time of the attack, there were a number of people in the park. But it happened so suddenly and the killers ran away before anyone could see them, police said.
A family member said that Kanchan and Bhutani often went to the park after dinner for a 30-minute walk. So, the person who planned the murder knew when and where to find the couple alone, police said.
The MCD children’s park does not have security guards or CCTV cameras. There is police patrolling in the area once or twice a week, a resident of sector 13 said.
A neighbour said that Bhutani had a cable TV wires manufacturing business and this could be a case of rivalry within or outside the family. However, the police said that they could comment only after speaking to Bhutani.