60-year-old man stabs wife to death

A 60-year-old man stabbed his wife multiple times and slashed her neck killing her in his car during a verbal duel, in south Delhi's posh Anand Niketan area today.

Deceased Manju Monga, 58, was brutally killed by her husband Mukesh who attacked her with a knife while he was going to drop her at a boutique in Anand Niketan area where she worked, around 11.30 am, police said.

He stabbed her multiple times and slashed her neck allegedly during an altercation between them over a phone call she received, said a senior police officer.

The couple used to reside in Hari Nagar with their children- a 29-year-old son and a 30-year-old daughter.
 

Police said that they were trying to ascertain what triggered Mukesh's violent behaviour.

"The family is in a state of shock and we haven't been able to question them in detail. The accused, however, claimed that he was angered by his wife's reply when he asked her who was on her phone," added the officer.

Mukesh told police that he suspected his wife of being over-friendly with a man and it angered him that she spoke to him in front of him in the car today, police said.

However, neighbours told police that Mukesh was addicted to alcohol and that wasn't approved by Manju and he would also physically assault her, said the officer.

The bystanders who witnessed the incident rushed to the woman's help and caught hold of her husband behind Mount Carmel School in Anand Niketan area. A guard posted in the area later made a PCR call after which police reached the spot and arrested Mukesh.

The accused allegedly also tried to cut her head before he was apprehended by the public and handed over to police. But, the autopsy report will reveal the number and nature of the wounds on victim's body, said the officer.

Mukesh doesn't have a permanent source of income and works in his sister's institute as a guitar instructor. He also allegedly used to physically assault his wife under influence of alcohol, police said.

Children of the deceased told police that their mother was supporting the family and their father didn't have a permanent source of income.

They also told police that Mukesh was not present at home on Tuesday and suddenly turned up on Wednesday morning and accompanied their mother to drop her at the boutique in Anand Niketan where she worked.

The family was affected with the "strained" relations between the accused and his wife. Mukesh's father also lived with the deceased and her grown-up children although they had strained relations, they said.

A case has been registered and investigation is underway to determine whether the accused had planned to kill his wife or it was an outcome of "sudden provocation". Presence of the knife in the car leads to suspicion that the murder was "pre-planned", said the officer.