Man kills wife, attempts suicide

Murder witnessed by 12-year-old niece

A day before his divorce was to be finalised, a 44-year-old man killed his wife and then tried to commit suicide at their house in south Delhi’s Govindpuri on Thursday. The murder was witnessed by their 12-year-old niece and a case has been filed over her statement, police said.

The accused has been identified as Amal Kumar Kar who worked as a quack. Police arrested him after he was discharged from the AIIMS trauma center.

Police said a property dispute was among several unresolved issues between Amal and his 42-year-old wife Deepa who had been married for 13 years.

Their 12-year-old niece had recently come to the house to stay with them.In her statement, the girl told police that she was woke up hearing the screams of the arguing couple around 4 am. 

“She claims to have seen Amal attacking Deepa with a knife. He then locked himself in a room on the first floor,” said a police officer.

The girl then raised an alarm on which neighbours gathered. Police were also informed after which a team of local police broke open the gate of Amal’s room.Amal was found in a partly unconscious state, while Deepa was found in the bedroom with multiple stab wounds and a slit throat.

Amal later told police that he had consumed poisonous substance and tried to hang himself, but failed.

He was rushed to AIIMS and was discharged after treatment. Deepa’s body was preserved for a post-mortem after crime and forensic teams inspected the house. A case of murder and attempt to suicide has been registered with Govindpuri police station.

Neighbour Hrishikesh claimed that heated arguments between Amal and Deepa had become a routine affair and the couple had even sought counseling from relatives.“But realising that they could not drag on their relationship further, they had decided to part ways. They then applied for a divorce and on Friday, it was to be finalised,” said Hrishiskesh.

Sources said Amal and Deepa were also fighting for the ownership of a property in West Bengal that they had bought some years ago.