Double murder: Two sisters found murdered in E Delhi

Two sisters were allegedly found strangled and poisoned to death at their rented accommodation in East Delhi’s Khichripur area under mysterious circumstances on Friday morning, police said.

According to the police, the victims — Poonam (21) and Swati (12) were found lying with froth coming out from their mouth when one of Poonam’s friends came to their house, following which she raised an alarm. Police have formed three teams to look into the matter. No arrests have been made so far.

Yogesh Kumar, the victims’ landlord said: “It was around 10 am that one of Poonam’s friends, who works with her in a beauty parlour, came here to call Poonam. However, the front door was found to be locked from outside. When we opened the door, we found both the sisters lying unconscious on the floor and froth coming out from their mouth. I then informed the police. The family was living here for the past two months.” 

A team of local police then rushed the girls to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where they were declared brought dead.

“There were strangulation marks on the victims’ neck and it is also suspected that they were poisoned. However, we are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact time and cause of death. We are investigating the case from all possible angles,” said Bhairon Singh Gurjar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East). A crime team and forensic experts too reached the spot to gather all evidence.

“We once heard Poonam having an altercation with a boy in the lane but we were not sure what exactly transpired between the two,” said one of the neighbours.

Poonam used to work in a beauty parlour in the neighbourhood while Swati studied in a government school. Their father, Ajit Kumar, is a security guard while their mother works in a nearby factory. The couple is now survived by three daughters all of whom are married. The family belongs to Etah in Uttar Pradesh and had been living in Delhi for the past 20 years. 

According to a police official privy to the investigation: “Poonam was in a relationship with a boy from another community who has been identified as Tahir. It is possible that he eliminated Poonam or her parents could also be responsible for her death. We have questioned the girls’ parents but it is difficult to pin point one person at this point of the investigation.”

A case has been registered at the Kalyanpuri police station under relevant sections of the IPC against unknown person. Further investigation is underway.