A 36-year-old man allegedly stabbed his 32-year-old wife to death in front of their daughters in the early hours of Monday after he suspected of her being in an extramarital relationship with a neighbour in Maujpur in northeast Delhi, the Delhi Police said, adding that the couple’s 11-year-old daughter sustained a deep stab wound while trying to save her mother.
Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said that the 11-year-old’s injury was not life-threatening. Police arrested the suspect from the neighbourhood and recovered the murder weapon shortly after the crime.
Police identified the suspect as Abdul Sajid, while the deceased woman was identified as Nisha (also a Muslim, who went by one name according to police). The DCP said that Nisha was rushed to GTB Hospital but was declared dead on arrival, adding that she had suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck, chest, and hand. The injured girl and her seven-year-old sister, were rescued through the balcony by their neighbours. Police said that the neighbours were unaware of the attack for a long time as Sajid played loud music to contain the noise.
According to the police, the incident happened around 1am at the second-floor house owned by Nisha’s parents. Sajid ran a mobile phone shop but was forced to shut it due to poor business. His unemployment caused frequent fights between the couple even as he suspected Nisha of infidelity.
A neighbour who rescued the children, Shahida Begum, said that the quarrel between the couple began a little after midnight, but they thought it was one of their regular fights. “Later, loud music began playing, so we couldn’t hear them anymore,” Begum said.
It was around 1am that Begum looked out of her kitchen to see the two girls moving frantically in their house. “The older girl’s hand bore a stab wound. The two children were screaming and saying that their father killed their mother,” added Begum. Begum, with the help of her family, helped pull the two children out through the balcony. While the children were being rescued, the suspect escaped the scene of the crime.
Nisha’s parents told the police that she was often beaten by Sajid. “They told us that recently, the neighbours rescued her when she was being strangled by Sajid,” said a police officer not authorised to speak to the media.
“We arrested the suspect, recovered the knife used in the crime, and have registered a case of murder and attempt to murder,” said Tirkey.
