New Delhi: At 4.30am on Monday, police received a PCR call about an attempted burglary and rushed to a house in southeast Delhi’s Batla House, only to discover a murder. A woman, identified as the second wife of a man who stays away from Delhi due to his work, was found dead on the floor of a fourth-floor flat, with multiple stab wounds on her neck and abdomen. A tangled web of family tensions unfolded, and police soon learned that the crime was allegedly committed by the man’s first wife, who, along with her children, grew hostile towards the second wife due to ongoing conflicts and insecurities. The woman was arrested, and two of her children were apprehended.The victim, who got married to the man two years ago, lived with her husband’s first wife and three children, aged 14, 13 and 6 years. A police officer said the elder son made the call. The suspects tried to stage the scene as a burglary by scattering items around, but the absence of struggle and forced entry signs raised suspicion. This prompted questioning of the first wife and her children, who confessed, he claimed. The accused claimed she suspected her husband favoured his second wife and gave her more attention despite their 16-year marriage. She also thought that he even neglected their three children. “Adding to the tension, he took the second wife with him for a month. A few days before the incident, the victim allegedly slapped one of the children, which escalated anger and led to the attack,” police said.Investigators are also examining whether the first wife feared that her husband was planning to permanently relocate with the second wife, leaving the rest behind. According to the victim’s relatives, his husband informed his younger brother in Nabi Karim about the alleged burglary attempt and asked him to visit the house. “We were told that a thief broke in and something happened. But when we arrived, we found that it was a murder,” a relative said. Alleging frequent arguments between the two women, he claimed, “The first wife didn’t want her to live with her husband and wanted her to be kept away.”He further claimed that the first wife and her children attacked the woman between 1am and 2am while she was asleep. ” The victim was married for two years and had no children,” he added.
