Scolded by employer, man kills woman, teen son in 'act of revenge' in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar

New Delhi: In an "act of revenge", a 24-year-old man killed his employer's wife and teenage son at their home in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar after the woman allegedly scolded him publicly for not repaying a loan of around Rs 40,000, police on Thursday said.

The man, identified as Mukesh Kumar, worked as a helper at Kuldeep Sewani's garment shop in the Lajpat Nagar market. Kumar would also transport garment.

The accused, a native of Bihar's Hajipur, was nabbed by Uttar Pradesh Railway Police from a train while he was trying to flee, police said.

Earlier, police suspected him as a house help.

The incident came to light when a PCR call was received at 9.43 pm on Wednesday from Kuldeep Sewani, a resident of Lajpat Nagar-I.

He informed police that his wife Ruchika (42) and son were not answering his calls and that there were bloodstains on the staircase of their house.

"A PCR van and an investigation team rushed to the spot where Kuldeep reported that the main gate of the house was locked from outside. Bloodstains were seen on the staircase leading to the house," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Southeast, Hemant Tiwari.

"Police forcibly opened the door and found the bodies of the woman and her son inside," he added.

The DCP said that Ruchika's body was found with the throat slit in the bedroom, while the body of her 14-year-old son was recovered from the bathroom.

Both were killed with a sharp weapon, he added.

Mukesh was working with the family for the past 3-4 years in their shop and had an access to their house as the family used to store their products in a house godown, police said.

Though he was employed as a shop help in Lajpat Nagar, he also assisted Kuldeep and Ruchika to drive their vehicle, they said.

"Kuldeep and Ruchika jointly ran the business and their son was a class 10 student," said Tiwari.

Another police officer privy to the investigation said, "Prima facie the incident took place between 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm on Wednesday. The accused was scolded by the woman during the day which appears to have triggered the act of revenge. It seems that he first slit the throat of the woman and then killed the boy."

A source said that Mukesh was under pressure after borrowing over Rs 40,000 from his employer and being reprimanded for not working properly and taking leaves repeatedly.

"Mukesh had taken an eight-day leave to visit his village for his engagement, but he failed to return even after 25 days. Upon his return a few days ago, he again demanded more money and additional leave, which led to a confrontation with his employers -- Kuldeep and Ruchika," said the source.

The couple scolded him for his irregular behaviour and demanded that he return two mobile phones given to him along with the borrowed money, police said.

When Kuldeep was at his shop on Wednesday evening, Mukesh allegedly told him that he was going to the house godown to collect some cloth. Instead, he procured a sharp-edged weapon and went straight to the residence, they said.

"He rang the bell and told Ruchika that he needed to pick up products from the godown. Once inside, he allegedly attacked her with the weapon. When her 14-year-old son came downstairs upon hearing the commotion, Mukesh, hiding near the bathroom, attacked him as well before fleeing the scene," the DCP said.

Mukesh was tracked down and arrested from a train in Uttar Pradesh with assistance from local police.

After an information about the double murder was received, multiple teams were formed and the photo of the accused was shared with police and railway police of other states, the officer said.

He said that after killing the two, Mukesh locked the house from outside and fled with his belongings.

He was traced with the help of technical surveillance and arrested from a train at Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction by Uttar Pradesh Railway Police while he was heading towards Bihar.

"The accused will be brought to Delhi for questioning and formal arrest. We are also checking the CCTV footage from nearby locations to verify whether the accused also stole any valuables from the house before fleeing," the officer said.

A case has been registered in the matter and further investigation is underway, police said.

Jangpura MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah visited the area and said that he spoke to senior police officers soon after the incident.

"When I got a call about the incident, I spoke to the DCP and other senior police officers. The SHO, ACP and DCP have been working since last night and the accused was apprehended overnight. Everything should be investigated thoroughly," he said.

Police cordoned off the area as curious residents and onlookers gathered near the Sewanis' residence.

Sunil Varma, a local resident, said, "I live across the park and came when I heard that there had been a murder. I later got to know that the family ran a kurta shop and had been living here for the past 10 to 15 years. The shop was quite old. I did not know them personally."