'Each accused claims to be the one who proposed surrender'

New Delhi: Investigators probing the double murder of 53-year-old fashion designer Mala Lakhani and her security guard in Vasant Kunj Enclave told Millennium Post that three hours after the crime, the three arrested accused were in dilemma whether to surrender or flee.

However, one of the broke down and surrendered with the others to the police. Police are now verifying their testimony.

"After committing the murder between 10 and 11 pm, the accused went to Rangpuri Pahari, where they were discussing whether to surrender or flee.

"During this, one of the accused proposed surrendering and all three then went to the police station. These facts have been verified by us," said an investigator.

Cops further claimed that when interrogated separately, all three accused claimed that they were the first to tell the other two accused to surrender.

"When they were questioned together, they said they made the plan to surrender together," cops added.

Nushrat, a neighbour of the deceased, told Millennium Post that when her family returned home late Wednesday night, they did not hear anything suspicious from Mala house.

"We were awake till 11.30 pm, but we did not hear anything. It was around 3 am (Thursday) when we noticed police, and later bodies came out of the house. Then we came to know about the murders," said the neighbour.

She further claimed that Lakhani was a very charming woman and the guard Bahadur always talk to her children. "The tailor never talked to us," she added.

Police sources claimed that the prime accused Rahul Anwar had worked as a tailor at Lakhani's workshop for more than three years. He told cops that whenever Lakhani used to get a lot of work orders, more tailors used to come and work at her workshop. The other two accused Rahmat and Wasim also knew tailoring and were working with Anwar, who hatched the whole plan.

Meanwhile, investigators said that the accused Rahul used to get money as per the clothes he made for Lakhani. They added that he had be involved in a molestation case in the past. "It is been suspected that one of the accused had gagged the mouth of the victims, while the others stabbed them to death," police said.

The other deceased Bahadur had been living with the victim's family from the last 40 years and his relatives are yet to be reached.