Elderly couple murdered in N Delhi, house looted

ASHOK VIHAR A hired attendant raised alarm after the duo did not open the door for him.

The two were found dead in a room while their house had been ransacked and lockers emptied

A couple in their seventies was murdered and their house ransacked in north-west Delhi’s Ashok Vihar on Saturday. Ramlal Bhutani (79) and his wife Kaushal Bhutani (73) were found dead by an attendant at 9.43am. Police said one of their recently hired domestic helps is now absconding.

The incident came to light when Dulal Sarkar (57), who looked after ailing Ramlal, came to the house at 8am and found the door locked. Ramlal had been bedridden for the last three years due to a spinal problem.

“My job was to look after Ramlal from 8am to 8pm. On Saturday morning, I came to work and found that the door was locked. The couple did not answer their phones. I asked their neighbours and even called Ramlal’s relatives. Nobody knew where they were,” Sarkar said.

Making one last attempt, Sarkar went to the nearest hospital to make enquires. He couldn’t find them and alerted the neighbours again. The police reached the spot, broke the door open and found the couple lying dead.

“Ramlal was on the bed. It looked like he had been smothered to death. Kaushal’s body was on the ground with a head trauma. Every room had been ransacked. Cupboards were open and lockers had been emptied. Their phones are also missing,” Sarkar said.

The prime suspect is the second attendant, Dinesh (20), who had been recently hired to look after Ramlal. His work started after Sarkar’s shift got over. “Dinesh was hired after Ramlal had a heart attack 10 days ago. He had returned from the hospital on August 27. On Friday night, I left when Dinesh came,” Sarkar said.

Relatives said that Ramlal was a retired government official. He had worked in audit department of home ministry. Kaushal was a retired government school teacher.

Police said that a case has been registered at Bharat Nagar police station. Search for the absconding attendant is on.

SNEHAL TRIPATHI / HT PHOTO Ramlal’s relatives said he was a retired government servant and his wife Kaushal was a retired teacher. The two did not have any children and had been living in the house for several years.