- A 62-year-old man allegedly killed his wife over a property dispute in East Delhi
- He used a crime method inspired by HBO's series The Staircase to destroy evidence
- The victim was attacked with a sword and stabbed with scissors; the sword vanished
A husband. A wife. A brutal death, and then the murder weapon that vanished forever, leaving justice hanging by a thread - this was the plot of HBO's true crime series 'The Staircase'. But inside a house in East Delhi, it became yet another reality.
Using a crime strategy he claimed to have learnt from the series, a 62-year-old software consultant allegedly killed his wife over a long-running property dispute, discarded the murder weapon, and tried to mislead the investigators.
The incident took place on July 30 when the accused, Kamal Singh, and his wife, Komal Singh, were alone in the house. While their son had gone to the library, their daughter had gone to the office, and their domestic help had finished work and left. Around 12:45 pm, Komal was drying clothes on the balcony when her husband struck her on the head from behind with a sword.
However, the blow was not strong enough to cause Komal to collapse. She immediately screamed and ran to the kitchen to hide.
Kamal then dragged her out by her hair in the living room and stabbed her repeatedly with scissors.
According to the police, the victim's screams were audible to people living around, but no one intervened. Kamal's father even asked his wife to go and check, but she reportedly told him to stay out of their matter.
Kamal, after killing his wife, put his blood-stained clothes and the sword in a bag, took a shower for about 15 minutes, and then fled on his scooter. On his way, he threw the bag away. The accused then withdrew approximately Rs 7,00,000 from two different bank accounts, in addition to the Rs 5,00,000 cash he had already taken from his wife's room. In total, he had approximately Rs 12,75,000.
During this time, the couple's 26-year-old son, Gaurav Singh, called his mother several times but received no response.
When he reached home around 9:15 pm, he found his mother lying in a pool of blood. While one of the weapons used in the murder - the scissors - was found next to her body, the sword was missing.
As Kamal was missing, the police examined CCTV footage of the area and continuously tracked his location through technical surveillance and electronic evidence. Initially, Kamal turned on his mobile phone and headed towards Gorakhpur, leading the police to believe he had fled to Nepal. However, upon reaching Gorakhpur, he switched off his mobile phone and headed towards Mathura to mislead investigating agencies.
After three days of manhunt, the Delhi police arrested Kamal near the Mathura Railway station.
The cops seized the scooter and also recovered all the cash from him.
During interrogation, the accused revealed details of the murder and his escape plan. He told the police that he had planned to destroy the murder weapon, similarly to what was shown in the web series 'The Staircase', to weaken the evidence against him.
According to officials, Kamal was planning to flee to Nepal.
Investigation also revealed that Kamal and Komal's marriage had been extremely strained for the past year. During his trip to Mumbai, Kamal had also become closer to another woman - which created more issues between them.
The two lived in the same house, but paid separate electricity bills.
Additionally, Kamal wanted to purchase a property in Jagatpuri, and he wanted it to be registered in his father's name. However, Komal was demanding a share in it, causing frequent fights between them. The property dispute is believed to be the main reason behind the brutal crime, officials said.
