New Delhi, March 31: A deputy director in the defence ministry and his wife, a classical dancer, were found dead in mysterious circumstances at their home in Hudco Place, south Delhi, on Friday afternoon.
The body of Kumar Yashkar, 42, who had studied at the London School of Economics, was found charred near the kitchen while his wife, Archana Sharma, 34, had been strangled with a chunni in the bedroom of the flat. The deaths came to light around 1.45pm. Archana was a Bharatnatyam dancer who regularly performed on stage.
Cops said the house was found locked from inside and did not appear ransacked or looted. They hinted that the deaths could be the result of an altercation between the couple. But family sources said the two were extremely attached to each other and there had to be a "very strong provocation" leading to violence between them.
Blood, soot at murder site
Hours after a defence ministry official and his wife were found dead in their Hudco Place home, police are still scrambling for clues.
The body of Kumar Yashkar was found charred near the kitchen while his wife, Archana Sharma had been strangled with a chunni in the bedroom of the flat. Police said there were some signs of a scuffle and found injury marks on Archana's head. There were blood-spots near the kitchen and soot marks in the flat. A family member said Kumar's job at the Director General of Medical Services in Sena Bhawan, was of a sensitive nature and he never discussed work at home. According to the couple's relatives, none of them had ever seen the couple quarrelling.
Police officially declined to commit on the possible cause of the deaths for now. "We would only be able to ascertain further details after the autopsy and medical reports are released. The bodies have been preserved at AIIMS for postmortem which will be conducted on Saturday," said a senior police officer.
"When we reached the house, the front door was locked from inside so we used the side door of the balcony to enter. We have recorded the statements of family members and are exploring various possibilities. A case of murder against unknown persons has been registered," said P S Kushwaha, additional DCP (south).
According to police, the incident came to light when a refrigerator mechanic came to the couple's flat but no one answered the door. "The mechanic came to our flat enquiring about the couple. We rang the bell and even made calls to them which went unanswered," said a neighbour.
More neighbours gathered and tried to find out whether anyone was inside the flat. "When we called on their cellphone we could hear the ring from inside the house. We realized that something was wrong as there was a burning smell coming from near the exhaust fan and windows were spotted with soot," said Yashkar's next door neighbour.
The fire department received a call 1.35pm and two fire tenders were sent to the spot. In the next few minutes, police were informed as well. "We pulled the door from outside and the latch came off after a few minutes. We could spot one of the bodies from there," said a police officer.
A team of forensic and fingerprint experts were called in to collect evidence. Cops were still investigating till late Friday evening and were not able to confirm the cause behind the tragic incident.
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