A 43-year-old man and his wife were shot dead by three armed assailants in Harsh Vihar area of northeast Delhi. Police suspect that the culprits had come to kill their son. Around thirteen rounds were fired by the assailants. A senior police official said the incident took place at around 6 am at the residence of the victims in Sabouli village in Harsh Vihar. The deceased were identified as Sharada Prasad Tiwari and his wife Shobha Tiwari.


Policemen stand guard at the crime scene of Harsh Vihar in
Northeast Delhi. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan

"Durgesh Tiwari, the son of the deceased, had an affair with one Neha (name changed) who lived in their neighbourhood. Durgesh had eloped with Neha and got married. Sharda and his wife accepted the marriage but the family members of Neha did not approve of it. Neha's brother Dinesh Rawal, alias Sonu, had allegedly threatened Sharda many times. An eyewitness in the case claimed that Sonu had come to Sharda's house with his two associates in a bike and shot the couple dead," said a police official.u00a0

"It was around six in the morning when the incident took place. Three persons came to Sharda's house and opened fire as soon as the Sharda opened the door. The assailants wanted to kill Durgesh but he escaped," said a police official. The official said that Durgesh got himself locked in one of the rooms in the house which is why the assailants missed him. Shobha died on the spot while Sharda was taken to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

"Durgesh had eloped with Neha to Jammu in December last year and the duo got married there. Following this, Neha's family had lodged an FIR of kidnapping against Durgesh. Durgesh was arrested after this and released on bail," said the official.u00a0u00a0

A hearing was scheduled on Wednesday in the case. Durgesh had returned from Jammu on Tuesday to appear before the court. He said Sonu had fired at him after killing his parents but he managed to escape and raised an alarm. "A manhunt has been launched to nab the criminal behind the incident. A case of murder has been registered with the local police," said the police official.