Gory end to 'illicit' affair; toddler, woman killed

The two-and-a-half-year-old son of a communications professional and aide of a BJP MP was murdered and his wife and daughter critically stabbed at their home in West Delhi’s Moti Nagar on Thursday in a bloody fight with a woman neighbour.

The neighbour was also killed in the incident, suspected to be linked to an alleged extra marital affair.

The fight which raged for 40-odd minutes, left Reena Taneja and Aarav, the toddler, dead. “We have recovered the weapon used in the crime and are investigating the matter,” said a senior police officer.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon at around 3 pm at the residence of Anil Sharma, a close aide of MP Chandan Mitra. Sharma was not at home at the time of the crime.

Apart from losing son Aarav, Sharma’s wife Sudesh and daughter Komal were injured. They have been admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre in a critical condition.

Police said Reena went to Sudesh’s house in the afternoon and a scuffle ensued between the two women. One of them fished out a knife and attacked the other.

“It is not yet clear who attacked whom as one woman is dead and the other is not in a position to make a statement. We will be able to  trace the course of events only after we record the statement of the victims,” said the officer.

Police suspect that Sudesh attacked Reena and slit her throat, while the children might have got caught in the fight, one getting killed and other  injured.

But Anil Sharma claimed that his wife was only assisting Reena to iron out differences with her husband Manoj.

Reportedly, the police recovered a blood-soaked paper from the spot which stated that Manoj, husband of Reena Taneja, was responsible for the skirmish.

Police also suspect that Manoj, a small time builder, had an extra marital affair with Sudesh and Reena came over to sort things out when a scuffle took place.

Sunita Khurana, a neighbour. said: “I was sitting with other women in the house opposite Sudesh’s. At around 2.50 pm, I saw her daughter come out to the balcony with blood oozing from her stomach and she signalled us to go over. We rushed and knocked the main door. It was opened by Sudesh, who had a knife sticking out of her waist and was bleeding profusely. When we went inside, we saw her son lying on his stomach in a pool of blood, dead. In another room, a woman lay dead with her throat slit, who we later learnt was Reena Taneja. When we went into the balcony Sudesh’s daughter was lying there unconscious.”

Moti Nagar police have registered a case of murder and attempt to murder. Sources associated with the investigation said they were likely to arrest Sudesh once she was declared medically fit.