Man kills wife, three daughters; ends his life

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 28

A 30-year-old man, Neeraj, strangled his wife to death, smothered his three minor daughters and then committed suicide at Rally village in Sector 12-A here early this morning.

It is being suspected that Neeraj killed his family members while they were asleep. They have been identified as his wife Raj Kumari (27) and daughters Navita (5), Shivani (2) and Ananya (seven months old). All victims were taken to the General Hospital, Sector 6, where they were declared brought dead.

The police recovered a suicide note from the spot in which Neeraj had blamed his stepmother and brother-in-law for taking the extreme step. Neeraj worked as a peon in a private company in Sector 11 here.

The postmortem of the three children revealed that they were smothered with a cloth at nearly the same time. The postmortem of Neeraj and Raj Kumari will be conducted tomorrow at the General Hospital. Though the police have registered a case of murder under Section 302 against Neeraj, they say the exact position would be known after the postmortem of the couple. The police have not ruled out foul play behind the incident.

Some relatives told the police that Neeraj might have taken the extreme step as he had three daughters. “Seven months also, he was again blessed with a daughter. He was a little upset as the admission of the eldest one was also pending,” said Pintu, brother of Neeraj. Pintu, who is a driver, was the only one present in the house at the time of the incident.

At around 6.30 am, Pintu tried to open the door, but it was bolted. “From the window, I saw Neeraj hanging from a fan with a rope. I broke the glass and sent a child inside. All of them were found dead,” Pintu told the police.

However, the police have found several missing links in Pintu’s statements.

“There are several contradictions in Pintu’s theory. We are probing the matter. Asked whether he heard any screams while the crime was being committed, Pintu said he was sleeping on the roof. He said he knocked at the door of his brother’s room at around 4 am as he wanted to drink water. His brother opened the door, which means Neeraj was alive at that time,” said a police official.

The SHO of the Sector 5 police station, Inspector Lalit Kumar, said, “We are working on several theories. The suicide note will be sent to the CFSL for verification of Neeraj’s signatures. We have called the family members from UP and they will reach tomorrow.