3 min readNew DelhiMay 24, 2026 01:55 AM IST
A 28-year-old man allegedly killed his 40-year-old cousin and her 13-year-old son in South East Delhi’s Govindpuri area earlier this week because he was angry over her repeated attempts to stop him from engaging in criminal activities and drug abuse, police said on Saturday as they arrested the key accused, identified as Saurabh Sahu following a brief exchange of fire.
The bodies of the woman and her teenage son were found at their house on the intervening night of May 20 and 21, triggering a massive investigation by multiple teams of the South-East district police. Officers had said at the time that cash worth Rs 10 lakh and jewellery were also missing from the house even as there were no signs of forced entry. Police said they solved the double murder case within 72 hours.
Police said Sahu, a resident of Sangam Vihar, was arrested after an exchange of fire with a team of the South-East district police near Ghati Wala Park in Tughlakabad Extension in the early hours of Saturday.
During questioning, officers said, Sahu allegedly told police that he killed the mother-son duo because the woman, who was his cousin, often brought up his alleged involvement in criminal activities, apart from his drug addiction.
Police said the accused has been previously involved in cases of theft, snatching and robbery.
The investigation was carried out under the guidance of IPS probationer Harnit Singh, SHO of Govindpuri police station, and supervised by ACP Kalkaji VKPS Yadav. Teams led by Inspector Vishnu Dutt, Inspector Ajay Dalal and Inspector Rajender Singh Dagar were assigned separate responsibilities, including CCTV footage analysis, technical surveillance, electronic tracking and interrogation of suspects and witnesses.
A crucial lead, officers said, was first generated by the local staff of Govindpuri police station and was later developed further by the Anti-Narcotics Squad and Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) teams.
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Acting on specific intelligence about the accused’s movement near Ghati Wala Park in Tughlakabad Extension, a trap was laid by a team led by Inspector Vishnu Dutt under the supervision of ACP Operations Ratan Lal.
“The accused opened indiscriminate fire at the police party when asked to surrender and attempted to flee from the spot,” DCP South-East Hemant Tiwari said.
During the encounter, Sahu allegedly fired four rounds at the police team. One bullet struck the bulletproof jacket of Sub-Inspector Yashpal, who narrowly escaped serious injury, the DCP added.
The police team retaliated in self-defence and fired three rounds before overpowering and apprehending the accused. He was later shifted to a hospital under police custody.
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Police said they recovered a country-made pistol allegedly used in the crime, empty and live cartridges, blood-stained clothes and other incriminating evidence linked to the murders.
Further investigation is underway, police added.
