Spurned by kin’s wife, lover kills 5, shoots self

TOI

NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD, 03 Sep 2012: Spurned by a married woman, a heavily armed 27-year-old jobless youth went on a killing spree that left six people dead, including himself, in Delhi and Ghaziabad on Monday.

 

The bloodbath began when the alleged killer, Ravi, visited the home of his cousin Navin, a BPO cab driver who lived in Bindapur near Dwarka in southwest Delhi. Ravi had earlier proposed to Navin’s wife Renu, 24, who had rejected him.

 

Police said Ravi was armed with an automatic pistol and a country-made pistol. He first alleged shot Navin on the head and hid his body under a bed. The body was discovered later in the evening. Ravi then got into an argument with Renu after asking for the hand of her sister Baby, 22.

 

The commotion brought the landlady of the house, Sheila, 53, to the first-floor flat. Ravi shot them both and then drove more than 75 km to Bhojpur village in Ghaziabad to murder the girl’s father Harender (55) and sister Baby. Though he finally shot himself, cops claim it was only villagers had surrounded him.

 

According to cops, Renu had got married to Navin two years ago. After the marriage, police claimed Ravi developed an illicit relationship with her. However, when he pressed her to marry him, she refused. Navin eventually shifted to Bindapur to a rented accommodation two months ago. Ravi did not relent and kept visiting the couple.

 

On Monday, Ravi apparently came to ask Renu for the hand of her sister. According to additional CP (southwest) Anil Kumar Ojha, Renu was shot on the chest and head twice around 9.10am. Sheila, the landlady who tried to intercede was shot on the head.

 

Sheila’s son Dinesh, who is a property dealer, said he rushed from his office on hearing the gunshots and saw a man running out of his house with two firearms in his hands. Dinesh claimed he tried to catch Ravi but he threatened to shoot him and fled in a Santro car.

 

"At the time of the shooting, a domestic help was in the house but she was so scared that she could not tell us anything," a senior police official said. According to doctors, Renu suffered two bullet injuries while Sheila was hit by three bullets.

 

Ravi then drove to Bhojpur, around15km from Modi Nagar in UP. Speaking to TOI, SP (Ghaziabad rural) Jagdish Sharma the accused wanted to marry Baby, the daughter of one Harender. "He asked directly whether the family was opposed to his proposal. When he heard a firm no, he killed both father and daughter," Sharma said, adding that the killing took place at 1.45pm.

 

"The accused tried to escape after the killings but by then villagers had surrounded Harender’s house. The accused then went on the roof and opened fire at them thrice. When he found himself trapped, he rushed to a room and killed himself," Sharma said. Harender was shot on the temple while two bullets were pumped into his daughter’s body.

 

Another of Harender’s daughters, Ritu, is married to Yashpal, who is also Ravi’s cousin.

 

"We have sent the bodies for postmortem and further investigation is on to unearth the sequence and circumstances of the case," the police said.

 

Both Delhi and Ghaziabad police are trying to ascertain whether Ravi has any criminal antecedents as he had fired on the temple on each of his four victims and had used an automatic pistol. Ravi is a resident of Ghaziabad.