Couple stabbed, their throats slit in sleep
GREATER NOIDA: A couple was beaten up, stabbed and their throats slit by unidentified assailants on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday in Jamalpur village of Greater Noida. The situation in the village remained tense all day as aggrieved relatives and villagers refused to cremate the bodies until the perpetrators are caught.
Another couple, who lived 200 metres away from the victims’ house, was also attacked in a similar manner. However, the accused fled the scene after those two raised the alarm, attracting the attention of villagers.
A heavy police force was deployed in the village since Saturday morning even as senior police officers spoke to the victims’ family to ascertain the motive behind the double murder.
The incident took place around 1am Saturday. Azad Singh alias Kalu (63) and his wife Vedvati Devi (56) were sleeping in their ancestral home in Jamalpur village when they killed. Azad Singh retired as a cashier from the Delhi Jal Board and the couple divided their time between Delhi and Greater Noida homes.
“My uncle and aunt had come to the village a few days ago after a relative of ours died. We believe around four men attacked them while three others kept watch outside. My uncle had a licensed pistol but it is missing,” Gagan Singh, Azad Singh’s nephew, said.
Another couple, Sudhir Singh and Shobha, who lives near Azad Singh’s house, was also attacked around 2am. “The men locked up Sudhir’s mother in a room and started beating up the couple. Sudhir started shouting for help and when neighbours gathered, the assailants fled. The two were rushed to a private hospital,” Gagan said.
The crime scene at Singh’s house, meanwhile, as left police perplexed as the assailants did not take anything valuable but had rummaged through the shelves and cupboards.
“Although no cash or jewellery was stolen, the attackers left the almirah, table drawers and lockers open. Azad Singh and his wife had taken most of their stuff to their Delhi home a few years ago and used their ancestral house only occasionally. We are yet to ascertain the motive for the crime as it could be a case of personal vendetta or robbery. Their relatives have not been able to tell us of any vendetta, “Vineet Jaiswal, superintendent of police (rural), said.
The police have lodged a case of murder against unidentified persons and roped in five teams to probe the murders.
The deceased couple was distantly related to Varun Bhati, a para athlete who won bronze for India in the Jakarta Paralympics. Earlier, rumours had spread that the couple was Bhati’s grandparents. “They were distantly related to Bhati and were not his grandparents,” Jaiswal clarified.
Till Saturday night, villagers of Jamalpur refused to cremate the bodies until the perpetrators were caught.
“We have deployed a police force in the village keeping in mind the tense situation. It is too early to comment on who the assailants were,” Dharmendra Sharma, station house officer, Greater Noida police station, said.
Jewar MLA Thakur Dhirendra Singh met the kin of the victims on Saturday and assured them of a fair and swift probe. “The incident in Jamalpur village is heart wrenching. We are with the family. I have instructed the police to act swiftly and take strict action against the perpetrators,” he said.