The elderly couple was found murdered at their home in the national capital’s Gokulpuri area on Monday, a Delhi Police official said, adding that the house was ransacked and cash and jewellery were also missing. The deceased were identified as Radhey Shyam Verma, 72, and his wife Veena, 68, residents of Bhagirathi Vihar.
Verma had retired as Vice Principal from a Delhi government school in Karol Bagh. The family had been living in this house since the past 38 years with their son Ravi Rattan, said the official
According to police, on interrogation, the couple’s daughter-in-law Monika told police that she had planned and executed the murders with the help of her boyfriend Ashish and his friend.
“Monika came up with the idea to eliminate the old couple in December 2022, and Ashish agreed to help her. After finalizing their plan on February 20, they decided to use secret phone numbers to execute the murders. Ashish arranged for new SIM cards and delivered one to Monika at her parental home,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, Northeast, Joy Tirkey said.
Two days before the murders, Monika and Ashish started talking on their secret phones.
“On Sunday (April 9), Monika called Ashish to her place while her family members were away. She led him and his accomplice to the terrace and provided them with refreshments while they waited,” the DCP said.
At around 1.15 a.m., Ashish called Monika and told her not to come out of her room at any cost.
“He then executed the plan (of murder), and at 2.12 a.m., he called Monika to inform her that he had finished. The next morning, Ravi found the bodies and informed Monika, who then called her family members for help,” Tirkey said.
He said that Verma and his family were planning to sell their property to buy a house in Dwarka area. However, they couldn’t find a single buyer willing to pay the asking price of Rs 1.5 crore, so they decided to sell the property in parts.
“Monika, the wife of Ravi, was unhappy in her marriage. Ravi and his parents had also found out about her affair with Ashish,” the DCP said, adding that several teams have been constituted to apprehend Ashish (29).
“In the investigation conducted up till now, all evidence points towards the involvement of Monika, Ashish and Ashish’s associate. The bike that was used by the criminals has also been identified,” he said, adding that further investigation is in progress.