Man who slit ex-lover's throat beheaded toddler in Delhi held in Uttarakhand Police

    New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The Delhi Police has arrested a man from Uttarakhand's Haldwani for allegedly killing his former partner and a toddler with a surgical blade on the suspicion that the woman had an affair with another man and had aborted their child without telling him, officials said on Wednesday.
    The crime was allegedly committed in Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila area, they added.
    Earlier, accused Nikhil and the victim, Sonal, had a child that they allegedly gave away to someone in Uttarakhand's Almora for Rs 2 lakh, the officials said.
    Nikhil and Sonal, who grew close to each other in 2023, moved to Delhi after facing financial constraints. In Delhi, they met a friend of Sonal and her husband, Durgesh. Subsequently, Nikhil developed a suspicion that Sonal and Durgesh were in an illicit relationship.
    "During interrogation, Nikhil confessed to the crime. He said he met Sonal in Haldwani in 2023 and the two became close. Eventually, Sonal became pregnant and gave birth to a child, who was allegedly sold in Almora for Rs 2 lakh. Later, the couple shifted to Delhi due to financial constraints and stayed at Wazirabad, before moving to Majnu Ka Tila," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said.
    The officer added that a few months ago, Sonal befriended a woman named Laxmi and began visiting her house frequently. "Nikhil grew suspicious that Sonal was having an affair with Laxmi's husband, Durgesh," he said.
    "Around the same time, Sonal got pregnant again and Nikhil wanted the baby," he said.
    However, Sonal allegedly aborted the pregnancy without his consent, which led to heated arguments between the two. Following this, Sonal moved into Laxmi's house, the officer said.
    "Enraged by the events, Nikhil went to Durgesh's house on Tuesday afternoon, where Sonal and Durgesh's six-month-old daughter were present. After a confrontation, Nikhil brutally killed Sonal using a surgical blade --” a tool commonly used to open mobile phones -- and then killed the infant as well," he said.
    Nikhil confessed to killing the six-month-old girl as he believed that Sonal had aborted their child under Durgesh's influence. The killing of Durgesh's daughter was, in his mind, exacting revenge for the unborn child, the officer said.
    The accused will be brought to Delhi for further questioning.
    Nikhil also allegedly used to physically abuse Sonal, the officer said.
    A police source said after killing Sonal and the toddler, Nikhil went home and tried to take his own life but failed. "He went to the Old Delhi railway station, then to Bareilly and finally, to Haldwani. Meanwhile, police teams were interrogating his family members. He had taken shelter at the house of a friend linked to his sister," the officer said.
    A phone call from the accused to his sister alerted the police, who grew suspicious and initiated inquiries. However, Nikhil fled the house where he was staying and kept wandering around Haldwani. The next morning, when he returned to the house, police arrested him, the officer added.
    "He put strips of tape on the mouths of the woman and the child to ensure that nobody heard their cries. He then slit the woman's throat and beheaded the child," Ravi, the toddler's uncle, told PTI.
    A team from the Civil Lines police station went to the crime scene and found both victims lying in a pool of blood in a room, the officials said.
    "My brother runs a mobile phone shop in the area where Nikhil was working. My brother's wife and the victim became good friends," Ravi added.
    According to sources, both the families knew about the relationship of Nikhil, a restaurant worker in Timarpur, and Sonal.
    "Their families were planning to get them married after Sonal's elder siblings got married," a police source said.
    Nikhil had allegedly started beating up the victim over the last year and the two had frequent fights, the source said, adding, "Sonal moved to her friend's house recently after ending her relationship with him."
    Nikhil tried to kill himself after she killed Sonal and the child. But after his attempt failed, he fled to his sister's place in Haldwani, another police source said.
    "The accused cleaned the weapon used in the killings with water and took it with him. He also left his mobile phone at the crime scene so that police could not trace him," the source added.
    The victim's brother told PTI that they had no idea how the matter got escalated and rushed from Nainital after they heard the news.
    "My mother has been inconsolable since she heard the news. We are devastated," he said.
    Sonal, who was unemployed for a while, was staying with the accused in Khoda Colony, before moving to Majnu Ka Tila.
    "The woman experienced several issues and frequent arguments with Nikhil, leading her to leave him and stay with her friend," the DCP said.
    At the time of the incident, Laxmi and Durgesh had gone to pick up their five-year-old daughter from school.
    A few days before the incident, Nikhil had an argument with Laxmi, which left him distressed, the sources added.
    The bodies of the victims were handed over to their families. Sonal's body was taken to Nainital by her family, while the toddler will be buried in Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)