NEW DELHI: Tuesday night’s late report that a man named Harshit had been arrested for the murder of 75-year-old Vimla Rai and her 48-year-old daughter-in-law, Dolly Rai, in northeast Delhi’s Subhash Park was confirmed by Delhi Police on Wednesday. The cops said the women were killed on the night of August 13, barely 12 hours after Dolly’s sons had left for Mussoorie for the weekend. The two men returned on the morning of August 16 and discovered the double murder. TOI had reported that Harshit, a friend of Dolly’s sons, had been apprehended after police analysed CCTV footage and found his movements suspicious. Sanjay Sain, DCP (Northeast), said that Harshit, a 21-year-old BCA course dropout, was deep in debt and so planned the robbery. Ironically, the Rai brothers had given Harshit the responsibility of looking after their shop and house during their absence from Delhi. In Harshit’s internet search history, the cops discovered topics like ‘techniques and instruments to detect gold’ and addresses of shops that exchanged gold for cash. According to police, Harshit accompanied Dolly to the temple on August 13 and on returning home, smothered her with a pillow before stabbing her to death. He then killed Vimla in the same manner and ransacked the house. The police had recorded the statements of Dolly’s sons, Sarthak and Shashank, for clues about the murderer, who they suspected was close to the family as indicated by a friendly entry to the house. Shashank told the cops that he and his brother left Delhi for Hardwar and Mussoorie on August 13 with some friends. Upon return on August 16, they repeatedly knocked on the door but it went unanswered. Later, they opened the door with a spare key and discovered their mother’s body on a sofa on the ground floor. She appeared to have been stabbed in the stomach. They found the grandmother’s body on the first floor. CCTV footage showed Dolly going for her morning walks with her pet dog every day, but not from August 14 onward. Neighbours said they last spotted Dolly on August 13 evening going to the temple with Harshit. The phone call details of Vimla showed that she phoned Dolly 15-20 times daily for her needs since she was bedridden but hadn’t called her after 9pm on August 13. Meanwhile, Harshit was spotted near the Rais’ house on the evening of August 14. Harshit gave conflicting answers to his interrogators and changed his version during cross examination. Then the cops discovered he owed Shashank Rs 4-5 lakh. His internet history also showed suspicious searches. Harshit later broke down and confessed to the crime. He led the cops to the loot, including Rs 24,000 in cash, 14 gold necklaces, nine bangles, 24 pairs of earrings, rings and other jewellery. Harshit told the cops that he had bought a steel knife to kill the women. He was aware that the front CCTV camera at the house was not functioning. He also remembered there was another camera on the roof that mighty have captured him and had returned on August 14 to vandalise it. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebookTwitterInstagramKOO APPYOUTUBE
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/in-debt-trusted-friend-kills-two-robs-house/articleshow/93625170.cms
