The decomposed bodies of a 46-year-old man and his four daughters, two of whom were differently-abled, were discovered in their rented home in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area, the Delhi police said on Saturday.
The bodies, found on Friday afternoon, showed no signs of injury, but police recovered three packets of celphos poison, five glasses, and a spoon with a suspicious liquid from the house.
While police confirmed that the man’s two youngest daughters were differently-abled, neighbours claimed all four daughters had challenges. This claim is being verified, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Rohit Meena.
Locals said that the daughters rarely left their room, and the family was last seen by neighbours on September 24.
The discovery was made after neighbours reported a foul smell coming from the rented accommodation on the first floor of a building in Rangpuri village.
DCP Meena stated that the building’s owner, Nitin Chauhan, was informed by the caretaker about the foul smell from flat C-4. Chauhan knocked on the door but received no response.
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With the help of the fire brigade, police forced entry into the house, finding the man dead in one room and his four daughters deceased in another.
The victims were identified as Heeralal Sharma, a carpenter who had worked at the Indian Spinal Injury Centre in Vasant Kunj for 28 years, and his daughters Neetu (26), Nikki (24), Neeru (23), and Nidhi (20).
According to the DCP, enquiries with neighbours and relatives revealed that Heeralal’s wife had passed away from cancer about a year ago. Although he earned around Rs 25,000 per month, he had not been to work since January 2024.
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Heeralal’s brother Mohan Sharma and sister-in-law Gudiya Sharma arrived at the house after hearing about the deaths. They mentioned that Heeralal had become detached from family matters after his wife’s death and focused primarily on his daughters’ treatment.
Police have initiated inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the BNSS, and a medical board has been formed to conduct the post-mortems.
(With inputs from PTI)
