NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old woman and her four children, aged between three and 11 years, were found dead in their house in Old Seemapuri on Wednesday afternoon.
Initial findings revealed that the family had gone to sleep with a lit angeethi (brazier) and probably died after inhaling smoke. However, the woman’s family has alleged foul play. Police said the actual cause of death would only be ascertained after the postmortem examination.
The deceased woman has been identified as Radha, a domestic worker, and her children as Komal (11), Jitin (8), Raushani (4) and Arav (3). She lived in a rented flat on the fifth floor of a building in Old Seemapuri with her husband, Mohit Kalia, who is a helper in a private bus at Anand Vihar.
The PCR got a call around 1.30pm reporting that the woman and her four children were lying unconscious in their room. A police team found them lying in the room, but the youngest child was missing.
“It was learnt that the youngest son was rushed to a hospital by his father. The hospital told us that he had been declared brought dead. Following an initial medical examination, the woman and the other three children were also pronounced dead. Their bodies have been shifted to a mortuary for autopsy,” said a senior police officer.
The flat belongs to Amarpal Singh (60), a resident of Shalimar Garden. Singh had gone to the house on Wednesday morning to collect rent and documents from Radha and Kalia as they had shifted in recently. He told police that he knocked on the door, but returned when no one responded.
DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said it appears that the family died due to asphyxiation. “A brazier was kept inside the room. It’s a small room with no ventilation. Probably, inhalation of smoke caused the deaths. However, the actual cause of deaths will only be known after the autopsy report,” he added.
However, after the woman’s family alleged foul play behind her deaths, Kalia was taken into police custody.
Bantu Kumar (38), Radha’s elder brother, told police, “I received a call around 1pm telling me that my sister and her four children had died. I rushed to her house and met Mohit. He told me that he was also sleeping in the room. He woke up around 11am and realised that none of them were moving. He tried to wake them up, but when he saw no response, he rushed his youngest son to the hospital.”
“Radha’s family has also alleged that Kalia is an alcoholic and used to often fight with her over trivial issues. They got married around 12 years ago. Kalia is being questioned,” said a senior police officer.
Initial findings revealed that the family had gone to sleep with a lit angeethi (brazier) and probably died after inhaling smoke. However, the woman’s family has alleged foul play. Police said the actual cause of death would only be ascertained after the postmortem examination.
The deceased woman has been identified as Radha, a domestic worker, and her children as Komal (11), Jitin (8), Raushani (4) and Arav (3). She lived in a rented flat on the fifth floor of a building in Old Seemapuri with her husband, Mohit Kalia, who is a helper in a private bus at Anand Vihar.
The PCR got a call around 1.30pm reporting that the woman and her four children were lying unconscious in their room. A police team found them lying in the room, but the youngest child was missing.
“It was learnt that the youngest son was rushed to a hospital by his father. The hospital told us that he had been declared brought dead. Following an initial medical examination, the woman and the other three children were also pronounced dead. Their bodies have been shifted to a mortuary for autopsy,” said a senior police officer.
The flat belongs to Amarpal Singh (60), a resident of Shalimar Garden. Singh had gone to the house on Wednesday morning to collect rent and documents from Radha and Kalia as they had shifted in recently. He told police that he knocked on the door, but returned when no one responded.
DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said it appears that the family died due to asphyxiation. “A brazier was kept inside the room. It’s a small room with no ventilation. Probably, inhalation of smoke caused the deaths. However, the actual cause of deaths will only be known after the autopsy report,” he added.
However, after the woman’s family alleged foul play behind her deaths, Kalia was taken into police custody.
Bantu Kumar (38), Radha’s elder brother, told police, “I received a call around 1pm telling me that my sister and her four children had died. I rushed to her house and met Mohit. He told me that he was also sleeping in the room. He woke up around 11am and realised that none of them were moving. He tried to wake them up, but when he saw no response, he rushed his youngest son to the hospital.”
“Radha’s family has also alleged that Kalia is an alcoholic and used to often fight with her over trivial issues. They got married around 12 years ago. Kalia is being questioned,” said a senior police officer.
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