An e-rickshaw driver, his wife and three children were found dead in their rented flat in Northeast Delhi’s Bhajanpura area on Wednesday, 12 February.
The decomposed bodies of Shambhu Chaudhary (43), his wife Sunita (37) and two sons (17 and 14) and daughter (12) were recovered on Wednesday morning after neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from the house.
‘Gate Locked From Outside, Electricity Snapped’: Relatives Suspect Murder
Shambhu used to be a fruit juice seller earlier, like his uncle Shankar Jaiswal, who lives in the neighbourhood. Shankar said he had met Shambhu 10-12 days ago but he would rarely visit his new house.
“He would earlier sell fruit juice, it was only very recently that he rented an e-rickshaw and started ferrying passengers in and around Bhajanpura,” Jaiswal said.
Shambhu, a native of Bihar’s Supaul district, had moved to his Bhajanpura home only 5-6 months back and was living on the ground floor, that has been partitioned into two sections. Shambhu’s portion of the flat has a separate gate which was found locked.
“How is it possible that the gate was locked from outside when the entire family was inside? The electricity was also snapped. The body of the elder son was found with a blindfold. All of these hint at a well-planned murder.”Shankar Jaiswal
Jaiswal further said, “Shambhu is not someone who would get into brawls easily. He had a happy family. We have never heard of any dispute within the family or with anyone outside.”
Daughter Last Attended School on 3 Feb
Shambhu’s daughter had last attended school on 3 February, her friend’s mother who rushed to the spot after hearing the news, told The Quint.
“My daughter used to study in her class. She told me Komal did not attend school after 3 February. Everyone in her school thought she might not be well or must have gone on a vacation, to her native home,” the friend’s mother, who did not wished to be named, said.
‘Got Stench Since 2 Days, Thought Some Animal Had Died in the House’: Neighbours
Narender Bansal, who lives right across Shambhu’s house, said the only interaction he has had with him is when they would pass by on the street and wave to each other out of courtesy. “I have never spoken to him. He was very new here. I would see the mother drop the kids to school and bring them back.”
“Since the past one week, I saw that their gate was locked. I thought they must have gone somewhere. I did not bother. Since last evening, the stench was intolerable. We asked the MCD workers to come and check if some animal had died in the sewer. When they arrived in the morning, they said the stench was coming from inside the house.”Narender Bansal, Neighbour
Sadhna, who also lives opposite Shambhu’s house, said she was performing puja in the morning when her neighbours called her downstairs to alert her of the stench. “All of us decided to call the police and find out what had happened. When the police broke open the gate, the stench spread further and it was unbearable.”
“It is surprising that the tenants who were living in the adjacent room or on the floor were not bothered by the stench or that they did not call the police.”Sadhna, Neighbour
Narender said 5-6 labourers stayed in the adjacent room on the ground floor and another family lived on the floor above. The Quint could not reach out to any of the other tenants. The police had sealed the entire house and had asked the remaining tenants to vacate the premises immediately.
‘Bodies Found in Decomposed State, No Note Found’: Police
After receiving a call from the neighbours at around 11:15 am, the police arrived and had to break open the door. The five bodies were found in highly decomposed condition and a forensic team was called in to further investigate. The police is also checking the CCTVs in the neighbourhood.
“It is too early to say what was the cause of death. The bodies were in a highly decomposed state. The cause of death will be ascertained after a post-mortem.”Joint Commissioner of Police (East) Alok Kumar
"We are trying to recover the mobile phone used by Shambhu, who was the only one in the family using one. We have not recovered any weapon from the house,” Ved Prakash Surya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) said.
"The house was also not ransacked. We are investigating the matter and are going to file a case under Section 302 (murder) as the matter is very sensitive," Surya said.
No note has been recovered from the spot, he added.
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