The Indian Express ·
Politics
Neighbours watched from 9th floor as Delhi doctor murdered maid
Their statements are part of a 340-page chargesheet filed in the Kailash Hills murder case
It was July 18, around 10.45 am.
Like every morning, Vinay and Kamini, a couple in their 60s, were sitting across from each other in their ninth floor flat in a DDA society at Kailash Hills in South Delhi. They were looking out through the full glass wall of their room at their lush green neighbourhood.
They saw a man appearing on the terrace of a three-storey DDA building opposite. He had a knife in his hand.
Soon, a woman arrived. The couple watched as the man suddenly went after the woman and stabbed her in the neck. Once, twice, three times – at least six times, they would later tell the police.
They knew the man.
“He was Dr Manish Gupta, who was murdering his domestic help,” said a police officer.
What Vinay and Kamini saw that morning is now part of the 340-page chargesheet in the murder of Meena Halder (45), a domestic help who had worked for Manish’s family for 16 years, police said. Their statement is among those of 42 witnesses cited by police in the case. So are bloodstained house slippers allegedly belonging to Manish.
Kailash Hills is an idyllic neighbourhood by all means – a slope from the main road leads into narrow lanes, mostly lined with grey residential buildings. Some have three-storey white DDA houses surrounded by greenery.
Block A is one such lane.
Manish had been living on the top floor of one of these DDA buildings for 16 years. His family had earlier lived in Karol Bagh. His father, a government employee with the electricity department, died when Manish was about six. An only child, he was brought up by his mother, with the family relying on his father’s pension.
“Manish’s father had booked a DDA flat in Kailash Hills before his death. After Manish completed his MBBS, he opened a small clinic at his Karol Bagh house. But after getting married and having a child, the family finally moved to Kailash Hills,” said an officer.
Meena, then 29, was the first help the family hired.
Manish’s wife, Tina, an Ayurvedic doctor, would leave for her clinic in Lajpat Nagar at about 10 am every day. Manish would sit at his clinic, a room attached to their house, from around 11 am before he also left for his Lajpat Nagar clinic.
Meena lived in a colony nearby – a 10-minute walk from the couple’s house. Hailing from West Bengal, she lived with her son Robin and his wife, Saptami.
“She always praised Tina ma’am and the family. She said Tina used to be generous with bonuses, gifts and working hours,” Saptami had told The Indian Express.
The couple led a busy life. Tina’s clinic had taken off, while Manish also did philanthropic work, treating patients at gurdwaras and public hospitals from time to time. An officer said he had few vices – no drugs, cigarettes or alcohol.
Over the years, police said, Meena became a part of the family. Her bond with Tina, in particular, became close.
“Since both Manish and Tina were working, Meena looked after their son… She would spend three to four hours at their house,” said the officer.
However, Manish’s hectic life started taking a toll on him. “He used to have antidepressants sometimes. But there is no record of him being medically diagnosed with depression,” the officer said.
Police said things started changing between Manish and Meena last year. The officer said Manish increasingly felt that Meena had too much say in household matters and was not a good influence on his son.
The son’s career had also become a source of worry, said police. “As per Manish, his son was not doing well. He wanted him to pursue BTech, but he did not get into a good enough college despite expensive coaching. He then enrolled with an open college for engineering, but that didn’t work as well. Now, he wants to do law,” the officer said.
“During one conversation about his career, Meena allegedly told Manish’s son that he was the only child and would inherit all the property, so why did he need to study,” the officer added.
The conversation allegedly stayed with Manish.
Three-four months before the murder, police said, Manish began feeling that Meena did not respect him the way she respected his wife. In his statement to police, he allegedly said Meena would not listen when he asked her to do something. She would agree when Tina asked her.
“Tina said Manish had asked her to fire the house help about two months ago. She rejected it, but Manish never made a fuss about it. He never said anything to Meena either. Manish felt she was not cleaning the house properly,” a senior officer said.
On July 18, Manish returned from his daily walk at Lodhi Gardens, where he went by car at around 9 am, police said. Around 10.30 am, he was preparing his clinic, attached to the third floor house. Patients were expected to start arriving within about 30 minutes.
His son was inside his room, playing an online game with the door locked. “Manish asked Meena if she could just quickly clean the clinic, and she said she would do it in some time,” an officer said.
This angered Manish, who saw it as another sign that he was not taken seriously by his house help, police said.
A few minutes later, he allegedly found the clinic was still not clean. He then asked Meena to clean the storeroom on the terrace, where he waited for her, said police.
“As soon as she came up, she found Manish there. He took a bat and hit her on the head. A scuffle broke out, and Meena bit his middle finger,” the officer said.
Meean ran and Manish followed. It was then that Vinay and Kamini, having their morning tea, saw the two figures running on the terrace.
“Kamini called Manish’s neighbour – whom she was also friends with – and asked her to help Meena. Her friend ran to Manish’s house with her two sons. Manish opened the door and told them that he had murdered Meena. He then himself took them to the rooftop,” the officer said.
By then, Vimal had made the PCR call. When police arrived, they found Meena’s body on the terrace, her head battered and blood running across the floor.
The knife allegedly used in the killing had blades on both sides and an ornate handle. “Manish got it from a gurdwara about 14-15 years ago as a showpiece. It looked like a warrior knife,” the officer said.
Police said Manish’s initial claims about his “mental health” problems were not supported by the investigation. His medical examination, they said, found him to be of sound mind.