New Delhi:
A woman and her six-year-old son killed at home, a pregnant woman's body found by the road, a milk booth employee shot dead, and a murderous attack on woman and her daughter - these are not reports from a far-flung lawless land but the very heart of the national Capital.
Property dealer Pawan Nangia is inconsolable. On Thursday night, while he was away, his wife Anuradha and six-year-old son Cherish were killed at their Patel Nagar home.
When he returned around 3 am, he saw Anuradha's body in the kitchen. She had been repeatedly stabbed; their son was strangled in the adjacent room.
Police suspect personal enmity as the motive and say the killer had a friendly entry into the house. (
Read: Property dealer's wife, son murdered in Delhi)
In east Delhi's Geeta Colony area, a pregnant woman's body was found by the road. So far, the body hasn't been identified and there are no clues yet about the killer.
In north-west Delhi's Rohini area Harish, a cashier at a milk booth, was shot dead. The body was found only when passers-by saw blood on the pavement adjoining the booth.
A house in the bustling Lajpat Nagar area of south Delhi saw a murderous attack on a woman and her daughter. Fifty-year-old Monica Mangal and her 20-year-old daughter Megha were hit with iron rods, a little after 7 am on Friday. (
Read: Women attacked with iron rod in South Delhi home)
When neighbours heard their cries and rushed towards the house, the assailant fled leaving behind his car. The woman and her daughter are now in coma.
One night and a spate of murders have left Delhi residents shaken, and with a heightened sense of insecurity. Clearly, incidents like these don't do much for the image of a city already labeled as the crime capital of the country.