New Delhi: In a shocking incident, an 86-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her daughter-in-law by attacking her using a frying pan and cooker in South Delhi’s Neb Sarai area, the police confirmed on Tuesday.
The deceased woman has been identified as Hashi Som (86). She was residing alone in a rented 1 BHK flat just opposite his son’s flat in Swastik Residency, Neb Sarai, they said. According to the police, on April 28, police received a PCR call regarding the accidental death of an elderly woman in Swastik Apartment. A police team rushed to the spot where it was found that a woman was ying in the kitchen having multiple injuries on her face and skull.
The body was further sent for an autopsy to AIIMS. DCP South Chandan Chowdhary said that during the investigation, deceased’s son Surjit Som (51) stated that her mother was suffering from Arthritis and could not walk without the help of a stick or helper. Therefore, he rented a 1 BHK flat in front of his own in the same apartment.
“When the police team questioned him about the missing storage device of a CCTV kept on a table in his mother’s bedroom, Surjit Som told that he had installed this camera to watch her mother’s movements and he has live access to the camera on his phone as he monitors the routine of her mother. He further told that on the day of the incident, the camera was not working due to power cut. Further, he kept the memory card of the CCTV safely with him and after the last rites, he saw it. He could see his wife entering his mother’s flat. The sound of a scream is also heard on CCTV audio. He saw her leaving also. Surjit shared his apprehension with the local police,” DCP South Chandan Chaudhary said.
However, during the initial investigation, family members, and neighbours had not suspected any foul play. However, during the post-mortem, the doctor told that the injuries caused to the deceased are not possible in normal circumstances. Further, a detailed inquiry was initiated.
“During the investigation, it was found that on the day of the incident, Surjit’s wife Sarmishta was present in their flat and the flat of the deceased was locked from the outside and the keys of the deceased’s flat were lying inside the flat of Sarmishta. After seeing the CCTV footage, it is found that around 10:30 am on April 28, Sarmishta entered the flat of the deceased with having frying pan and cooker in her hand and she went behind the deceased in kitchen keeping herself out of sight of CCTV,” DCP Chandan Chaudhary said.
She said that the deceased suffered several blows. After committing the offense, his wife can be seen cleaning the cooker and weapon of offense with a cloth. The detailed autopsy report was received on May 8. 14 injuries were reported all over the body. The cause of death being “heamorrhagic shocks as a result of antemortem injuries sustained to the head, right hand, left upper limb and left lower limb consequent to blunt force impact”, the official said.
A case of murder under Section 302 was registered. “The cause of the murder was long-standing frustration with taking care of her — cooking for her, and giving her food on time, helping her with daily routine things. There was no immediate trigger,” the official said.