Film-style murder: Man kills wife after watching a Hollywood movie; CCTV reveals the truth; arrested in Mathura
The accused was trying to flee to Nepal
New Delhi. In Delhi’s Shahdara area, a 53-year-old IT engineer, influenced by a Hollywood film, murdered his wife over a property dispute and placed scissors in the victim’s hand to mislead police, police said on Monday. Based on technical surveillance, the Shahdara district police arrested the accused near Mathura railway station in Uttar Pradesh, a senior police officer said.
The murder came to light on the night of July 30 when the couple’s son returned home and found his mother, Komal Singh (50), lying in a pool of blood in their Gagan Vihar home. During interrogation, the accused told investigators that he was influenced by the Hollywood film “The Staircase” and believed disposing of the murder weapon would help him escape police.
Ajit Kumar Singla, Joint Commissioner of Police, East Delhi, stated that the accused placed scissors in the victim’s hand to mislead the police, while the sword he used to commit the murder was recovered at his behest. Police stated that CCTV footage proved to be the most crucial clue in solving the case. The footage revealed that when the couple’s two children left the house in the morning, only the accused and the victim were present inside.
Police also obtained footage in which the victim’s alleged screams can be heard, followed by the accused leaving the house. The officer stated, “Investigation revealed that Singh had withdrawn approximately ₹700,000 from his bank accounts. Technical surveillance revealed that he had gone from Delhi to Gorakhpur, from where he was planning to flee to Nepal, but to mislead investigators, he suddenly changed his route and headed towards Mathura.” He said that he was stopped near Mathura railway station, where police recovered ₹12.75 lakh in cash from him.
The officer said he also confessed that he was plotting to dispose of the weapon after watching ‘The Staircase’ as he felt it would hamper the investigation. Singla said the accused is an IT engineer and has previously worked in a company, while his son is an MBBS doctor and his daughter teaches German.