CCTV footage captured suspects behind Jangpura double murder

While police officially did not comment on the investigation details, a police officer, aware of the case, said they are exploring several angles because of the unusual aspects of the case.

Police have found a 45-second CCTV footage that captured the five alleged suspects outside the house. (Sourced)

HT, Nov 17, 2021, New Delhi: The Delhi Police probing the murder of two women, who were found dead inside their employer’s house in K Block Jangpura Extension, have found a 45-second CCTV footage that captured the five alleged suspects outside the house.

While police officially did not comment on the investigation details, a police officer, aware of the case, said they are exploring several angles because of the unusual aspects of the case.

Asking not to be named, the officer explained -- firstly the entry inside the house was friendly -- neither the doors nor the locks were broken. Even if the women knew one or two suspects, it was surprising why she or both of them would allow all five of them inside the house at around 2 am.

He added that the only item that appears to be missing is a cell phone of one of the dead women. Other peculiar details include all five men were carrying heavy bags, which is unusual if they had come to murder the two women; the women were found dead on two different floors with their mouth taped and limbs tied; the security guards supposedly admitted to the police they had seen five masked men but assumed they were residents, and did not bother to check, and also the fact that nobody heard a thing.

Police suspect the two women were smothered at different times during the early hours of Monday.

On Tuesday, doctors at AIIMS conducted the post-mortem after which the bodies were handed to their husbands. The two women, who were from Darjeeling in West Bengal, had been working in the house for the last 5-6 months. Mina Rai,35, worked as domestic help, while the other victim Sujata Gurung,40, was a nursing attendant, police said.

The twin murders inside the house came to light when a local dog trainer rang the doorbell at around 9.30 am on Monday and got no response. The man then called the building owner, after which she went to check on the two women and found them dead on the ground and the first floor.

“We are looking at the call data records of both phones. Only Mina Rai’s phone was taken. We found Sujata’s phone on the floor next to her body. This will help us get more details,” a police officer said on Tuesday.

HT contacted Esha Pandey, the southeast district’s deputy commissioner of police (DCP) for an update on the investigation but despite phone calls and text messages, the DCP did not comment.

A second police officer, who too asked not to be named, said that the two women lived in the house but visited their husbands once or twice a month in Gurugram. Mina’s husband works as a housekeeping employee while Sujata’s husband works with a physiotherapist.

“We are speaking to their husbands to get more details. Separately, we are trying to identify the five men. All of them are wearing masks. The video is blurred. The backpacks they are carrying seem to be heavy. They are seen talking outside the house and scaled the building wall to enter the house,” the officer said.

While police are working to crack the twin murders, the video of the five men has been widely circulated among the residents.

The colony resident welfare association president, Kapil Kakkar, said a message has already been circulated among residents to stay vigilant. Kakkar said they have in the past met the local police personnel at the Jangpura police post and asked for night patrolling in the colony. “For the past several years, the police have repeatedly said that they are short-staffed. We will try to employ more security guards and are requesting all residents to contribute to pay for the guards.”

DWARKA MURDER

Meanwhile, another police team in Delhi is working to identify the woman, seemingly in her mid-20’s, whose body was found in a drain behind a fuel pump in Dabri sector 2. The body was spotted by a passerby at around 6pm on Monday. Doctors had told police that there were burn marks on the woman’s forehead and her private parts, suggesting she may have been raped before being murdered.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Shankar Chaudhary was not available for comments on the investigation update. But officials, aware of the probe details said they are matching the woman’s description --- 157 cms, wheatish complexion, oval face, long hair – with description of other missing women. Police said the photograph of the woman’s face may not be of much help because her murderer had assaulted her causing several injuries and burned her face.

“We have sent the details of the woman to every police station across the city. We are focusing more on the nearby areas. The details and photos have been shared on WhatsApp groups. Once we identify the women, we will be able to proceed further. We are checking CCTV footage of the case,” said an officer, who asked not to be named.