Ex-caretaker arrested for murder of elderly couple in Delhi, main accused still at large

37-year-old Ravi Kishore, a former attendant, was arrested from Uttam Nagar.

A day after the bodies of an elderly couple were found at their flat in Northwest Delhi’s Kohat Enclave, the Delhi Police has arrested a former attendant, who used to work for them in connection with the case.

However, the main suspect — their current caretaker, who joined the job a few days ago — still remains at large.

According to police, Mohinder Singh Talwar (72) had been strangled to death while Daljeet Kaur sported injuries to her head, along with strangulation marks on her neck. Police suspect the crime happened in the late hours of Sunday.

Police said the accused, 37-year-old Ravi Kishore, was arrested from his Uttam Nagar residence around 8 pm on Tuesday. “Ravi used to work for the couple previously as an attendant nurse. He then left the job. The couple asked him to work for them again, but he refused saying that he had settled in Uttam Nagar,” a senior police officer said,

Instead, Ravi recommended the accused to the couple and asked them to employ him, police said. The couple then employed him based on Ravi's reference.

“Ravi conspired with the main accused to rob the couple as he knew where the safe was, along with the other jewels and cash. They decided to divide the proceeds,” DCP (Northwest) Bhisham Singh said. During questioning, a senior police officer said, Ravi claimed he only asked the accused to rob and not to kill the couple, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The bodies were discovered at around 10.30 am on Tuesday after the family’s driver told their elder son, Charanpreet Singh, who lives in the building next door, that he had rung the doorbell several times but got no response.

“My wife went to inspect and saw their main door was slightly ajar,” Charanpreet told The Indian Express. “She opened the door and saw my mother lying towards the left… my father-sahab was in his room,” he said.

An attendant was hired to take care Mohinder Singh Talwar as he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a few months ago and was bedridden.

The Talwars owned readymade garment shops in Paschim Vihar and Kamla Nagar. They are now being handled by their sons, Charanpreet and Manpreet. They also have a daughter, Gurleen Kaur.

Police said the exact motive behind the killings would be confirmed after the prime suspect is arrested and further interrogation is conducted.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the newly-elected BJP government in Delhi, accusing it of failing to ensure law and order within a month of taking office.

“In just one month, the so-called double-engine government has turned into a ‘double-murder sarkar’. Elderly couples are living in fear, unsure whether to keep house help. Yesterday, an elderly couple was brutally murdered in Kohat Enclave, a posh area right next to the Delhi chief minister’s residence," Bhardwaj said at a press conference.

(With inputs from ANI)