Man, 4 disabled daughters found dead after consuming poison in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj

NEW DELHI: A man and his four daughters were found dead in Vasant Kunj’s Rangpuri village in the national capital, police said on Saturday. The four had allegedly consumed poison and died by suicide.

Police were alerted at 10.18 am on September 27 about a foul smell coming from the house. When they arrived, they broke the lock of the flat and discovered the bodies. The deceased Hira Lal (50) lived with his daughters — Neetu, Nishi, Neeru and Nidhi — who were unable to walk due to their disabilities, sources said. His wife had passed away a year ago, reportedly from cancer.

According to Delhi Police, Hira Lal had been working as a carpenter at Spinal Injury Hospital in Vasant Kunj since 1996. Visuals from the CCTV footage shows him entering the house on September 24, and since then, the door remained locked from inside. One of the daughters was blind, and another had difficulty walking, while details of the others are still being investigated,an official added.

One of the neighbours of the deceased family, Ratan, alerted the police after noticing a foul smell. “The caretaker called and asked about them… He informed me about a foul smell and flies around the house. We hadn’t seen them for two to three days. We last saw the father 3-4 days ago. The children never used to leave the house. We called the landlord and the police… and police opened the house and found the five bodies. Their mother had died a few months ago… There were four daughters aged between 15-25 years, all of them physically challenged. We rarely saw them outside,” Ratan said.

Sulphaz pouches were found at the scene which indicated the case to be of poisoning, added police sources. “The door was locked from the inside, and sulphaz pouches were found. In the initial investigation, Delhi police called it a suicide. The final cause of death will be confirmed after the postmortem”, the official added.

According to Delhi police sources, a red sacred thread was tied around the stomach and neck of all the four girls. The bodies of the four girls were lying on the double bed in the first room and the body of the man was found in the second room, sources said, adding that that all the five deceased were found with white froth near their mouths.

“The wife died a year ago. Since January, the man was not even going outside…did not talk to anyone outside..he was seen on CCTV on September 24..He was the only one to take of his family..Two girls were disabled it is being said”, DCP South West Rohit Meena said. Further investigation is underway to establish the circumstances leading to the deaths.(ANI)