A dispute over an extramarital affair has left two people dead in central Delhi. In the horrifying incident, a pregnant woman was stabbed to death by her lover in public view in the Ram Nagar area, while her husband managed to kill him.
Shalini, a 22-year-old homemaker, was a mother to two daughters. Her husband, Akash, 23, an e-rickshaw driver, is now battling for life in the hospital. Aashu alias Shailendra, 34, was a local criminal who had an affair with Shalini.
Aashu claimed that Shalini was pregnant with his child and was angry with her decision to live with her husband, police said.
The attack occurred late last night when Akash and Shalini had gone to meet the latter’s mother at Qutub Road. Aashu appeared out of the blue and attacked Akash with a knife, but he dodged the blow. He then noticed Shalini in an e-rickshaw and stabbed her multiple times, police said.
When Akash tried to save his wife, he was stabbed too, but he managed to overpower Aashu. He snatched his knife and stabbed him to death.
Shalini’s brother, Rohit, immediately took her and her husband to the hospital while the police took Aashu to the same facility. At the hospital, Shalini and Ashu were declared dead. Akash suffered multiple stab injuries while saving his wife, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Nidhin Valsan said in a statement.
The incident has triggered panic in the area.
The police have registered a murder and attempted murder case based on a statement by Shalini’s mother, Sheila. The bodies have been sent for postmortem.
Sheila said Shalini and Akash’s relationship had strained a few years ago, and that’s when she had an affair with Aashu. They even lived together for some time. Shalini and Akash reconciled later and started living together with their two children.
This left Aashu enraged. He claimed to be the father of Shalini’s unborn child, police said. Sources suggest Shalini insisted that Akash was the father, and that led Aashu to plan the attack on her and her husband.