Man held for killing wife, three daughters over mounting debts
Victims were found dead with their throat slit at their house
In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police have arrested a 42-year-old man for allegedly murdering his wife and three minor daughters at their home in outer north Delhi, an official said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Munchun Kewat, alias Ashish (42), a native of Bihar, was arrested from Kishangarh, Rajasthan, after a 72-hour multi-state manhunt.
The police received a PCR call from the Chandan Park area, Siraspur, regarding the incident on the morning of February 25, when.
After getting information, a team from the Samaypur Badli police station reached the spot and found the bodies of a 30-year-old woman, Anita, and her three daughters aged between three and five years inside their one-room house in Chandan Park, Siraspur. All four had their throat slit with a sharp-edged weapon, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar Swami.
Kewat was found missing from the house and was immediately emerged as the prime suspect, the cop said.
Swami said investigators analysed footage from over 800 CCTV cameras and used facial recognition system technology to track the movements of the accused. Teams were dispatched to Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. His movement was traced to a town near Ajmer. The accused was intercepted and arrested in Kishangarh.
During interrogation, he confessed to killing his wife while she was asleep. When his daughters woke up and began crying, he killed them as well. He disclosed that the family was under extreme financial stress due to mounting debt and his gambling addiction, which led to frequent domestic disputes, the DCP said.
According to Swami, the accused had planned the murders in advance. He allegedly purchased a knife from a mandi on February 23 and hid it at home. In the early hours of February 25, after a night of arguments, he allegedly slit his wife’s throat while she was asleep. When his daughters woke up and began crying, he killed them as well. He then fled the house and travelled towards Ajmer, surviving on minimal food and sleeping in market yards.
The police further revealed that the accused had lost substantial amount of money in online and offline gambling, including betting on cricket matches and playing ‘teen patti’. In recent months, he borrowed Rs 2 lakh from his in-laws. Of this, the major amount was used to repay debts, while the remaining amount was lost in gambling.
The accused, a native of Patna district in Bihar, had previously worked as a labourer in Chennai and Ajmer. He was currently selling vegetables at Azadpur Mandi in Delhi. He was also previously involved in a theft-related case registered in 2025 at the Adarsh Nagar police station.
