25-yr-old man stabs parents, sister, grandmother to death

NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old man, who returned from a drug rehabilitation centre a few months ago, allegedly stabbed to death four members of his family at their home in Palam one after the other in a four-hour killing spree that began on Tuesday evening after his 75-year-old grandmother refused to give him money.

Police identified the man as Keshav Saini, who was caught later. He and his four family members lived on the second-floor of the building in south-west Delhi that turned into a crime scene.

His cousin Kuldeep Saini (26), who lives on the first floor with his father, is the complainant in the matter.

The suspect left home abruptly on November 3 and returned 19 days later, on Tuesday morning, said Kuldeep, adding that such intermittent disappearances were routine for Keshav, who “was a drug addict for around 10 years and was admitted to a rehabilitation centre last year”.

He fought with his mother minutes after he returned around 9am on Tuesday, said Kuldeep, and stormed out after she refused to give him money.

By the time he returned, around 5.30pm, the house was vacant, except for his grandmother Diwano Devi, whom he approached for money. He stabbed her in their flat as soon as she refused, said police officers aware of the matter.

He placed her body face down on the bed and then waited. His father, Dinesh (50), returned from work around 7.30pm and went to check on Diwano Devi. Keshav pounced on him, stabbed him, and dragged his body into the bathroom, said the officers.

Then, around 9pm, his mother Darshan (45), got back home and found her husband’s corpse in the bathroom. Keshav stabbed her as well and waited for his sister, Urvashi (22).

She returned half-an-hour after Darshan was stabbed, and cried for help on seeing the bloodbath in the house. However, Keshav overpowered her and stabbed her as well. Urvashi’s screams alerted Kuldeep, who called the police an hour or so after the last stabbing.

Kuldeep, who runs a wholesale business, said he returned from work around 9pm and was at home when he heard Urvashi’s cries. “I ran upstairs and asked Keshav what was wrong, but he asked me to leave. I tried to reason with him but he didn’t listen,” Kuldeep said, adding that he then called the police control room.

By this time, other neighbours had also gathered at the scene, Kuldeep said. He said that when he heard a noise in the shaft area, he suspected that Keshav was trying to flee. “We ran downstairs to the parking lot and he was about to flee on a scooty when we caught him and the police took him into custody,” Kuldeep said.

The police said he was arrested late on Tuesday while trying to flee the flat, adding that they are verifying the sequence of events.

To be sure, the police clarified that Keshav was not under the influence when he murdered his family, adding that he had two other criminal cases registered against him.

Deputy commissioner of police (south west) Manoj C said that Keshav was not cooperative during the preliminary investigation, but investigators “could infer that a quarrel triggered the murders”.

“He did not have a stable job and his family used to tell him to mend his ways. This left him frustrated,” he said.

“During questioning, he said that he is a graduate. We have found two criminal cases registered against him so far. He also doesn’t seem to keep a personal mobile phone. It has also come to the fore that he had spent time in a rehabilitation centre,” a second officer said, asking not to be named. Kuldeep claimed Keshav threatened him while being taken away. “He said, ‘ You got me caught. I will kill you after I get out of jail,” Kuldeep said.