By News18
Forty-two-year-old Ruchika Sewani, who was murdered along with her 14-year-old son in their Lajpat Nagar house in Delhi, had scolded Mukesh, the accused, who worked as a helper at their garment store, after he had not reported to work for nearly a month, and kept demanding monetary aid.
As the investigations into the Lajpat Nagar double-murder case progress, the police have learnt that Mukesh Kumar had sought an eight-day leave to visit his hometown in Bihar for his engagement. He, however, stayed away for 27 days and kept contacting the Sewanis for money during this period.
Before proceeding on leave, Mukesh had taken Rs 45,000 from the store鈥檚 owners.
Another worker, Prem Sagar, at the same garment shop, told the police that Mukesh had briefly come back, had asked for more money, and disappeared again, which started to worry the Sewanis.
Other workers at the shop also confirmed to the police that Ruchika and her husband, Kuldeep Sewani, had recently scolded Mukesh and advised him to be more responsible.
On the fateful day, Ruchika Sewani returned home from the shop at nearly 7 pm. Police believe that between 7.30 pm and 8 pm, Mukesh arrived unannounced at the Sewani residence and rang the bell. When the woman opened the door, he allegedly attacked her with a sharp weapon, slitting her throat.
Her teenage son, who was in the upper portion of the house, is believed to have heard the commotion and came running. The accused also allegedly stabbed him to death in one of the washrooms in the house.
The police received a call from Kuldeep Sewani at nearly 9.43 am, informing them that his wife and son were not answering his calls and that there were bloodstains on the staircase of their house.
As a team of police rushed to the spot, they found Ruchika Sewani鈥檚 body in the bedroom and her son鈥檚 in the bathroom.
Later, technical surveillance was used to track the accused, who was caught on board a train at Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction. He was attempting to flee to his home in Hajipur.
Mukesh admitted to killing Ruchika and her son 鈥渋n a fit of rage鈥.
LAJPAT NAGAR DOUBLE-MURDER CASE: WHAT NEIGHBOURS, OTHER WORKERS SAID
The neighbours told the police that the Sewani family lived a peaceful life in the Lajpat Nagar area of southeast Delhi, running a clothing store called 鈥楰uldeep Garments鈥 in the busy main market.
Ruchika Sewani was a businesswoman and mother, who managed the shop with her husband, often accompanied by their teenage son.
Ruchika and Kuldeep Sewani were polite and hardworking. They never troubled anyone, said Sunil Varma, one of their neighbours.
One of the workers at the shop said Kumar was a trusted aide of the Sewanis.
鈥淗e was not just an employee, he was around all the time. Ruchika treated him like family,鈥 said Rohan, a co-worker at the garment shop.
Kumar was one of the four employees at the store. He was living in Amar Colony with his father and elder brother for the last few years, helping manage the daily operations at the shop.
Meanwhile, residents in the area demanded stricter verification of shop workers to avoid similar incidents in the future.
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