5-yr-old, eyewitness to mother's murder, helps cops nab killer father

A five-year-old, who witnessed his mother Jyoti’s murder, gave crucial evidence against his father to the police and in court about how he (father) committed the crime in front of his three children before running away from the house.

“Papa thrashed mummy with belt and then cut her wrist with a knife,’’ the child reportedly told police after the murder in September.

The man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering his wife as he suspected her of having an affair with their paying guest.

A day after the murder, the child was taken to court along with his grandparents and he recounted the gruesome murder in front of the judge. On the basis of his statement — and also circumstantial evidence — his father was named accused in the murder of his mother Jyoti, said police.

On September 11, the neighbours of Aashish, a roadside vegetable seller living in northwest Delhi’s Wazirpur village, heard his three children crying incessantly. They found the door of the house closed and thought that the children might have been left alone at home while the parents were at work.

“One of the neighbours then called me,’’ said Rani, mother of the victim, who lived one street away.

“I came running to see the kids thinking they might be crying out of hunger. When we entered the room, I got the shock of my life when I saw my daughter Jyoti lying on the bed drenched in blood and her three kids clinging to her body, all splattered with blood. There was blood everywhere,’’ Rani added.

Aashish had allegedly run away after murdering his wife.

Post-mortem revealed that Jyoti’s wrists had been slashed and she died of excessive bleeding.

A manhunt was launched to nab Aashish. Searches across Delhi were in vain and the police extended the search to other states. Still, they were unable to trace Aashish for more than two months.

On Tuesday, on the basis of specific information, a raid was conducted in Jaitpur Extension near Delhi-Faridabad border and Aashish was nabbed. According to police, he initially tried to mislead them claiming he was not the person they were looking for. But after being confronted with facts, he confessed to have murdered his wife.

During interrogation, it was found that there was a heated argument between the couple over the presence of a paying guest in their one-room house. Aashish wanted to evict the guest but Jyoti opposed it, which made Aashish suspect her fidelity, said the police.