Delhi: Woman arrested for allegedly killing mother-in-law with a hammer

New Delhi: The daughter-in-law of the 55- year-old woman, who was found murdered on Thursday inside her South Delhi home, has been arrested for allegedly killing the elderly woman with a hammer, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, Rachna Dawar (25) was arrested after police investigation proved that it was she who had brutally murdered her mother-in-law Madhu after the latter slapped her twice and threw a slipper on her.

"On Thursday, at around 6 PM we received a PCR call from the neighbours of the deceased saying there was some commotion in the house. When we reached the spot, the elderly woman Madhu was found lying in a pool of blood.

She was rushed to AIIMS where she was declared brought dead," said a police official.

The other woman found on the spot was Madhu's daughter-in-law Rachna. She had injuries over left forearm and left foot.

She told police that a person came to their house attacked her with a kitchen knife and hit her mother-in-law with a blunt object on her head, he said.

However, she came under suspicion after she gave different accounts of the event and doctors of Department of Forensic Medicine opined that her injuries might be self-inflicted, caused by sharp weapon, simple in nature and fresh in duration.

On sustained interrogation, Rachna broke down and told police that she had killed her mother-in-law Madhu with a hammer kept in the house after she had an argument with her, police said.

Her mother-in-law had slapped her twice and threw a slipper on her, they said.

"Thereafter, she came to her room, took a hammer and hit her mother-in-law twice on the head with it. After that she ransacked the house to create a scene of robbery.

She inflicted minor injuries on her left forearm and left foot with the help of a kitchen knife," said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) PS Kushwah.

She then locked herself in her room and informed her husband, brother and mother about the concocted story.

She also bolted the house of her immediate neighbour from the outside to ensure that nobody could see the incident, said Kushwah.