Mystery shrouds Delhi home after two 80-year-old women found dead

NEW DELHI: A woman and her sister-in-law, both 80, were found dead under mysterious circumstances in their house in central Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar on Thursday.

Their bodies were partially decomposed, which suggests they may have died a few days ago.

Chandra Kanta, a retired teacher from Punjab, and her sister-in-law, Saroj Bala, an ex-staffer of Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking, were the only occupants of the house for several years. Their relatives staying in Rajouri Garden were informed.

Police personnel and Forensic Science Laboratory officials inspected the spot. Police got no indication of foul play during preliminary inquiry and after questioning neighbours, although they are examining all possible angles. The bodies were sent to RML Hospital for postmortem.

At 10.30 am, a domestic worker who clears trash from outside the house alerted police about a foul smell emanating from the house. “She told us that all doors and windows were closed at that time,” an officer said.

A team from the local police station entered the house and found the two bodies in a room — one on a bed and the other on the floor. Two cups of tea were lying nearby.

The single-storey house has four entry points. “However, no signs of forced entry or ransacking were found”, the officer said, adding that Saroj Bala was unmarried, while Chandra Kanta’s husband died several years ago. Both were pensioners. “One of them was suffering from health issues,” the officer said.

Police are questioning the domestic worker who alerted them. She said she used to collect garbage from outside the house, while another domestic help, who was employed by the octogenarians for household chores, was on leave.

The elderly women mostly kept to themselves, locals said. Devdutt, a driver who has been working in an adjacent building for a year, said he rarely saw them interacting with others. “I remember seeing one of the women occasionally standing outside the house,” he said.

The structure appeared dilapidated, with paint peeling off the walls and an old television antenna fixed to the roof. A couple of locals who were passing by told TOI that they had never seen any gathering or celebration at the house and that one of the women was unable to move properly.

Sanjay, a sanitation worker, said one of the elderly women would speak to him whenever she wanted him to clean the drains on the premises of the house. “I used to see her sometimes take e-rickshaws, but I did not see her venturing out during the past week,” he said.