‘Didn’t give money for drugs’: Woman, teen son stabbed to death in Delhi; cousin held after police encounter

NEW DELHI: Two days after a woman and her 13-year-old son were found murdered at their residence in southeast Delhi’s Govindpuri, police arrested the woman’s cousin from a park in south Delhi. He allegedly admitted to being addicted to drugs and claimed that he had grown resentful of his cousin, believing she was financially well-off yet unwilling to support him financially or give him money for drugs.

When police reached the house around 1am on Thursday, the woman’s husband, Vishnu, told them he had returned home around 12.30am after work in Vasant Vihar and found the front door latched from the outside. After entering the house, he discovered the bodies of his wife, Sharda Sahu (38) and their 13-year-old son, a Class VII student, in the kitchen with multiple stab injuries.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said that after identifying Saurabh Sahu, a resident of Sangam Vihar, as the suspect, police tried to track him and spotted him near Ghati Wala Park in Tughlaqabad Extension, and asked him to surrender.

Sahu allegedly tried to evade arrest by pulling out an illegal firearm and firing at the police team. He allegedly fired four rounds, one of which struck the bulletproof jacket of sub-inspector Yashpal. Police retaliated and fired three rounds. Sahu was eventually apprehended and taken to a hospital as he was injured in the firing.

Sahu allegedly confessed to murdering the woman and her son due to personal resentment and jealousy. Sharda had repeatedly counselled him against his addiction and involvement in criminal activities, which allegedly led to tensions between them.

Police claimed that on the day of the incident, Sahu went to Sharda’s house to rob and kill her. Investigators said the teen was also killed after he tried to intervene. “Sahu is involved in four criminal cases, including theft, snatching and robbery,” an officer said.

A relative of the deceased woman said Vishnu had earlier warned Sharda against allowing Sahu into the house. “He used to come to her house after consuming liquor. Vishnu had even warned her that one day he would betray her in a very serious way,” she said. The relative added that immediately after the murders, Vishnu had suspected Sahu ’s involvement in the case.

Police have seized a country-made pistol, blood-stained clothes and other evidence linked to the double murder case.