Couple murder: Blood stains of another person found in house

Investigators probing the shocking murders of an elderly couple in east Delhi have found blood stains of another person in their house, a sensational discovery they hope could help in zeroing in on the killers.

Investigators probing the shocking murders of an elderly couple in east Delhi have found blood stains of another person in their house, a sensational discovery they hope could help in zeroing in on the killers.

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The investigators feel the blood stains could be of one of the killers who was hurt in a scuffle with RK Bararu in the bedroom where the retired information and broadcasting ministry deputy director was found dead.

It was the preliminary forensic examination of the blood samples collected from the couple's house that led the investigators to the discovery.

"The mysterious blood stains were found outside the bedroom, on the way to the main door of the house," a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

"We may match the blood stains against samples from those, including service providers and relatives, who had access to the couple," the officer said.

The investigators may be groping in the dark for clues to the murderers, but some who were close to the victims said a few local property dealers wanted to get their hands on the couple's three-storey building.

"Some property dealers were trying to convince Bararu to sell his property in exchange for a hefty price. Because areas such as Shakarpur and Laxmi Nagar are turning into educational hubs, the property rates in these residential localities have skyrocketed. Homes adjacent to Bararu's building are already being used commercially. Some property dealers wanted to grab their property and use it as a private hostel," said a close friend of Bararu's son.

The couple's post-mortem had revealed that the killers were professionals who "did not leave behind much evidence", a senior investigating officer said.

The post-mortem report confirmed that Bararu and his wife Durga Devi died because of excessive bleeding and that the killers had slit their throat using a sharp weapon, the officer added.

"The way their throats were slashed suggests that their killers were professionals who did not leave behind much evidence at the spot. Interestingly, the murderers took away only Bararu's cell phone, his laptop and an Internet data card from the house," the officer said.

The investigators said they were questioning more than a dozen service providers who had visited the house in the past few days. The involvement of some of them was ruled out after their questioning, while others were quizzed again on Thursday.