MillenniumPost
Delhi

Lakhani's kin refuse to buy into robbery motive

New Delhi: Relatives of murdered fashion designer Mala Lakhani on Friday said they are not convinced by the police theory that Lakhani and her security guard Bahadur were murdered due to a robbery attempt.

Lakhani's kin claimed that if the accused only wanted to loot the house, they could have done it in the morning when she and Bahadur would have been at her boutique in Green Park, and there would have been no hinderance.

However, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Devender Arya claimed they have found no other motive in the case apart from robbery.

"(Lakhani's) brother is well-settled in Goa. There is no property dispute in the family. The three accused claimed they committed murder for the first time," said Arya.

Another investigator said, "The murder was not done by any other hired killer. These three accused are the main killers."

Cops further said that Bahadur's murder was more brutal, as the accused stabbed him so viciously that his entrails had come out. "The accused Rahul Anwar, Rahmat and Wasim used large knives, and due to the force with which they attack Bahadur, his stomach had ripped out," said a police officer.

However, Lakhani's relatives are not buying the robbery motive. At Safdarjung Hospital, where the post-mortem of the deceased, took place, a relative who wished to remain anonymous said, "She goes to her boutique at Green Park in the morning. The three persons could have committed the loot, but instead of that they killed her at night."

Lakhani's cousin Rajesh Jagtyani said, "She was a very good paymaster. We never heard about any money dispute with any employee." He added that she had once even helped accused Rahul Anwar get bail when he was in prison.

Talking about Bahadur, Jagtyani claimed he had been living with the family since 1988. "Mala was like family for Bahadur and he took good care of the house's safety and security. He was killed when he tried to save Mala," added Jagtyani.

He further said that Mala's father had a good business in Agra.

"Mala was very close to her two sisters and they used to talk regularly," said Jagtyani.

Another relative claimed that between 9.45 and 10 pm on Wednesday, Mala had spoken to her sister's daughter and everything seemed normal at the time. The relative claimed the murder to be 'vengeance killing'.

Cops are also looking into the criminal antecedents of the arrested trio.

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