Palam murder accused showed no remorse, threatened me, says cousin

Twenty-five-year-old Keshav who was arrested on Wednesday on charges of killing his parents and two other relatives issued a death threat to his cousin just before the police took him in custody.

It was Kuldeep Saini (26) who caught Keshav while he was trying to flee after the killings and handed him over to the police. ''When I come out of jail, it will be your turn,'' he warned Saini without showing any remorse.

Keshav is a drug addict and allegedly killed his sister and grandmother along with his parents at their residence in southwest Delhi's Palam area at 10 pm on Tuesday, the police said.

Saini said and Keshav's families lived on different floors of the same building.

''Around 10 pm, I heard my cousin Urvashi (Keshav's sister) calling my name and screaming for help. When I went upstairs, I saw that the gate just outside the main door was locked and there was silence.

''I knocked the door and asked Keshav to open it. But he insisted that I leave as it was their family matter,'' he recalled.

Saini said he later saw Keshav trying to flee on a scooter, but managed to get hold of him and handed him over to the police.

''When the police were taking him away, he told me that he will be in jail for 10 to 15 years and when he finishes his term, he would kill me,'' Saini said.

He said he and his parents opened the gate outside Keshav's main door after cutting the iron mesh and found their grandmother and Urvashi lying in a pool of blood in one room, and his Keshav's parents dead in the washroom.

Keshav used to fight with his family demanding money for drugs. Tuesday, too, he had an argument with his mother, Saini said.

He also said Keshav had a criminal history.

About five years ago, he was working in Bengaluru and was booked there for stealing documents. He was also involved in an ATM robbery and was lodged in Tihar jail for around one-and-a-half years. On November 3, he asked money from his grandmother who refused, following which Keshav stole the inverter battery from the first floor and went away with his three friends. The incident got captured in a CCTV footage and a case has been registered in Palam police station, Saini said. ''My grandmother had shifted to the second floor two days ago and had told me that she would be back in a couple of months. But she, too, was killed,'' Saini said. Devastated by the incident, the other family members were waiting outside the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital's mortuary where the post-mortem on the deceased persons was underway.

Shri Krishan (48), the brother of Darshana, said they have suspected that the incident was pre-planned.

''I received a call around 10.20 pm that Keshav has killed his family members. I rushed here from my residence in Burari. We have never thought that this would happen. He was a drug addict and used to fight with his family members over money. He was admitted to rehabilitation centre twice.

''We suspect it was pre-planned. We suspect that he first killed his grandmother. Later, he killed his father who came home around 8 pm. When his mother came around 8.45 pm, he killed her and at last, he killed Urvashi who reached home around 9.30 pm,'' Krishan said.

Krishan further alleged Keshav had two bags packed and ready so he could flee. He had kept his clothes in one, and his documents including the Aadhar card, a cheque book in the other. The lock of an almirah was broken and it was ransacked.

''I heard that about two-three days ago, Dinesh was talking to the cousin of Keshav and telling him that we need to admit Keshav in rehabilitation centre again otherwise he would kill himself or us. I am not sure whether they were planning to send him to the rehab again. ''The ambulance staff who packed the body said that Dinesh had maximum stab injuries on his body among all the victims. Keshav had also stolen Rs two to three thousands from my wallet,'' Krishan said, adding he heard that the accused had used a big knife, which generally uses for chopping coconut.