Man kills woman, makes her 10-year-old son clean up blood

NEW DELHI: A 28-year-old man murdered a 30-year-old woman in Dwarka by strangling her and then pushing her down a flight of stairs for talking to “other men” on the phone, Delhi police officials said on Tuesday, adding that the alleged killer then forced the victim’s 10-year-old son clean the blood from the crime scene.

The accused, Sanjay Singh, from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, was in an extramarital relationship with the victim, and was at her house in Dwarka’s Sector 23 posing as her cousin while her husband was out of town, investigating officers said. Sanjay was arrested on April 15 and has confessed to the crime, according to senior police officials aware of the investigation.

Deputy commissioner of police Ankit Singh did not respond to repeated calls and texts. The murder took place early on Saturday, hours after Sanjay had arrived at her house on Friday. The victim was found lying next to the flight of stairs on Saturday morning by her neighbours and rushed to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead.

On Friday, police officers cited above said, Sanjay came to the victim’s house and they had an argument over the latter talking on the phone with “other men”. Sanjay told police officers that he suspected that she was involved in other relationships.

In the ensuing fight, Sanjay strangled the woman and then pushed her down a flight of stairs. The victim’s two children – aged 10 years and eight – were sleeping in a room upstairs, according to the first information report (FIR) filed in the case, a copy of which has been seen by HT. The FIR also states that Sanjay then woke up the woman’s 10-year-old son, convincing the boy that his mother tripped down the steps and died. Police said Sanjay took the child to see his mother’s body and then made the child clean the blood.

The boy, the FIR states, was “scared” and believed Sanjay, whom he called “uncle”. “The 10-year-old cleaned the blood near the body and then threw the blood-soaked washcloth in the dustbin,” according to the FIR. Doctors who examined the victim’s body saw multiple marks on her head and neck and informed the police, despite claims by Sanjay that the incident was an accident. The post-mortem report revealed that the woman had “strangulation/ligature marks” on her neck which caused her death. A police team was rushed to her home and Sanjay, who was still staying there, was arrested. He confessed to the murder.