Man kills wife, three children by slitting their throats in Mehrauli

A 42-year-old man allegedly killed his wife and three young children by slitting their throats in the early hours of Saturday in South Delhi's Mehrauli, police said. Upender Shukla, a private tutor and native of Champaran district in Bihar, has been arrested. He is suspected to be suffering from depression, they said.

Shukla, who used to give private tuition classes of chemistry, killed his wife Archana and their two-month-old daughter, five-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter by slitting their throats in the early hours of Saturday, Deputy Commission of Police (South) Vijay Kumar said. At the time of the killings, the accused's mother-in-law was at their house in Mehrauli which has two rooms.

When Shukla did not open the door of his room on Saturday morning, she informed the neighbours who broke it open and found him lying unconscious next to the bodies, police said. They then called up the police, he said.

Two handwritten notes in Hindi and English in which Shukla confessed to the killing of his wife and children were recovered from the room. He, however, did not give any reason for it, the officer said. Shukla's wife Archana was a diabetes patient and he was not a financially sound person, police said.

Police suspect that a quarrel might have erupted between the couple recently on this issue due to which he was under depression and allegedly killed them, police said, adding that they are investigating the exact cause of his depression, which he is claiming. Shukla was found inside his room with a cut on his hand and the investigation will reveal whether he tried to commit suicide after killing them or got injured during the incident, police said.

According to sources, Shukla tried to kill his wife and three children on Thursday night also but could not execute his plan. On the intervening night of Friday-Saturday, he gave them a sedative and later killed them after slitting their throats, the sources said, adding that some wrappers of medicines were also recovered from the house.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the killings took place between 1 and 1.30 am, the officer added. The bodies were sent to the AIIMS for post-mortem which will be conducted on Sunday after the family of the deceased arrives here, police said.

The knife used in the incident was seized and further investigation is underway, the DCP said.