Doctor arrested for bludgeoning, stabbing domestic help to death in south Delhi

The body of a 45-year-old woman was found on Thursday in a pool of blood on the terrace of a building in upscale Mount Kailash area of south Delhi, allegedly bludgeoned with a bat and knifed to death by a doctor whose house she worked in as a domestic help, an official said.

The doctor, identified as Manish Gupta, was found at the crime scene and has been arrested, police said. During preliminary questioning, he admitted to attacking the woman, identified as Meena, with the bat and subsequently stabbing her, a police official said.

The brutal killing has sent shockwaves through the neighbourhood, especially since it occurred just two months after the daughter of an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer was allegedly raped and murdered by a former domestic help in the area.

Police received a PCR call at around 11.30 am reporting that a woman had been murdered on the terrace of a neighbouring building and was lying blood-soaked at the spot.

“A police team rushed to the spot and found the victim dead. A man in his 50s was also present near the body when they arrived,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.

The accused was immediately apprehended, and police are questioning him to determine the motive behind the murder.

DCP Tiwari noted that the accused is a dermatologist and that the victim had been employed as domestic help at his residence for several years.

“The main motive behind the murder is not clear, and an investigation is underway to ascertain the motive,” he said. The officer also dismissed speculation linking the murder to black magic or occult practices, saying no such angle had emerged during the investigation so far.

Investigators suspect that the crime may have stemmed from a personal dispute, although all possible angles are being explored. Police are also trying to reconstruct the events leading up to the murder.

A crime team was called to the scene to collect forensic evidence. CCTV footage from nearby buildings was reviewed, and residents were questioned to gather additional information about the incident.

The body was sent for a postmortem examination, and a case has been registered, with multiple teams interviewing the accused. The bat and knife allegedly used in the crime have been seized from the site.

Struggling to come to terms with the gruesome incident, the victim’s family still cannot understand how the incident unfolded. “I don’t know what exactly happened. She was fine when she left. Someone called me and said she had died,” said Robin, the victim’s son. He also accused the police of not letting him see her body.

“She worked as a domestic help at their house for the past 15 years. My friend called and informed me that she had died and that I should come. My mother left as usual around 7 am and arrived there by 9 am,” he said.

Pooja Verma, a fellow domestic worker who previously worked with Meena, described her as a well-known figure in the community.

“The doctor’s clinic is in Saket. He has a son, too. He operates a clinic both at home and externally,” she said, mentioning that she worked with Meena at the accused doctor’s house for seven years.

“Someone mentioned they saw people beating her. They also said that she was attacked with sticks and a bat,” Verma alleged.

As news of the murder spread, a large crowd gathered outside the building, including domestic workers who knew the victim and had worked alongside her over the years.

Tense scenes were witnessed at the crime spot as several people demanded strict action against the accused. Some among the crowd demanded that the accused be handed over to them, prompting police personnel to increase security and attempt to pacify the gathering.

Many women were seen crying and expressing anger over the killing, while arguments broke out between residents and police officers over access to the crime scene and the pace of the investigation.

Police remained deployed in the area to maintain law and order as forensic teams continued their examination of the scene.

Further investigation is underway to establish the exact motive behind the murder and determine whether anyone else was involved in the crime, police said.

In April, a 22-year-old IIT graduate and daughter of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer was allegedly raped and murdered at her residence by their former househelp in southeast Delhi’s upscale Kailash Hills locality.

Rahul Meena, the 19-year-old domestic help who had worked with the family for around eight months and was sacked a month before the crime, was arrested.

The woman, who was preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, was alone in her house at the time of the incident and was found murdered in a room by her family members when they returned from the gym.