Couple found dead inside locked Jamia Nagar home

NEWDELHI: A builder and his wife were found dead at their home in southeast Delhi’s Jamia Nagar on Saturday morning.

Police said builder Shamim Ahmed, 55, who was recently booked for the rape of a relative, and his wife Taslim Bano, 50, were last seen alive around 11pm on Friday.

Investigators suspect the deaths to be a case of suicide pact since the door was locked from inside. But no suicide note was recovered from the spot.

Further, the police were also trying to find out how the couple died as there were no visible signs of poisoning, injuries or any ligature mark on either of the two bodies.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal said that around 6am they received a call from the victim’s family saying that the two were found dead inside the house.

“The couple lived with their 25-year-old son Abdul Rahman. Rahman told us that he left home on Friday night to go to a nearby place. When he returned home later, he found the door locked. He then went away for sometime and returned again around 2.30 am but found the door locked and no one answered the door bell. It was then that Rahman informed his uncle Azim Ahmed and together they broke open the door and saw the couple lying motionless,” said Biswal.

Azim, however, contradicted the police’s version that there were no injury marks on the bodies of his brother and sisterin-law and said he had seen marks on Shamim’s chest and legs and also both were bleeding from their noses.

“Their faces were both covered. We suspect foul play behind the incident,” said Azim.

Biswal said they would wait for the post mortem report to proceed further in the case.

According to the police, they suspect that the couple’s poor health could have triggered the suicide.

Relatives of the deceased duo said that the husband suffered from high sugar levels and the woman recently had a surgery of her stomach.

The rape case against Ahmed could also be a trigger, said Biswal.

The house where the couple lived has an automatic lock that can be opened using a key from outside. However, Rahman said he was not carrying the key when he left home.

The police said they are also verifying the son’s statement that he discovered the bodies during his third visit and did not grow suspicious despite his parents not answering the doorbell and repeated knocks carlier.

Ahmed and Taslim Bano had been living in Jamia Nagar for the past 38 years and are survived by two married daughters, beside Rahman.