FOUR OF FAMILY FOUND DEAD IN WEST DELHI HOUSE

Four members of a family – a couple and their minor daughters -- were found dead in two different floors of their house in Dwarka here on Monday morning.

The police suspect that the head of the family, Ravinder Kanojia (34), hanged himself after beating the three -- wife Chanda and daughters Nandini (8) and Yashika (6) -- to death. The couple’s third daughter Bhavna (3) survived as she stayed over at her grandmother’s house nearby on Sunday night.

Ravinder and his family had moved to the ground floor of the house a few days ago and construction of the two floors above was on. They had shifted from a rented accommodation where other members of his joint family are living.

“Around 7-30 a.m., Bhavna went to her house to collect a toothbrush but repeated knocks on the main gate went unanswered. A neighbour saw the distressed child and informed her grandmother and uncles. Ravinder’s uncle Kishore rushed in to check,” said Meena, a neighbour.

Since the gate was locked from inside, Mr. Kishore scaled the parapet of the adjacent house. On the ground floor, he found Chanda and the two girls lying on two cots in the same room, soaked in blood. “Another neighbour and I went to the second floor where we found Ravinder hanging from a wooden plank meant to support construction of the ceiling,” said Mr. Kishore.

The Police Control Room was informed and the bodies were sent for post-mortem. A case of murder was registered.

According to the police, an empty bottle of alcohol was found near Ravinder’s body.

The incident could be the outcome of a marital discord or sudden provocation, the police said, adding that they would go through the call records of Ravinder and his wife.

Rift denied

Family members and neighbours, however, denied any rift between the couple. The police further said there was no evidence that Ravinder was in financial distress.

Ravinder and his two brothers run three dry cleaning shops -- one each in Dwarka Sector 7, Sector 8 and Palam.